As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material where I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a habit from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and exploring the city's public library.
However in the year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her concerns mirror a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. And after decades of optimism in the US that closer ties with China could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.
“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”
Since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit absent the same levels of violence.
But after the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He resided in the US for several years, having fled China because of harassment from officials.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears parallels with the East.
“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China now as too,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, in part because public debate on internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “America isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”
The government's purchase of shares in US companies has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government announced it will take an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have made some investors concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college once outspoken on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
