When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she is not just thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material in which I directly criticize the government … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.
However over the past year after the president was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears reflect an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if America is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”
Since the administration unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit absent the same levels of violence.
But since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, now a CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng resided in the US for several years, after escaping China due to harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His pile on originated from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in the East today as too,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. However, “The US is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, appear in decline.”
The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have left some investors nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, something that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
