When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share material where I openly disparage the government … I think it's a habit from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and exploring the city's library system.
But over the past year since the president was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her concerns mirror a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”
Ever since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit absent the same levels of force.
However since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in China. He has lived in the US since 2019, after escaping the country due to pressure from officials.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with the East.
“Regarding going after dissenters and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in the East today as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between government and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for national security. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
