As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she's not only thinking about what humor to deliver. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I'd never publicly share material where I openly disparage the government … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's public library.
But over the past year since the president was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears mirror a new climate in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in China, perceive as eerily similar. Enemies face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to events in China half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without the same levels of violence.
However since the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. He resided in the US for several years, after escaping China due to harassment from officials.
In September, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in the East today as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “The US isn't some kind of god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, appear in decline.”
The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved news. US courts have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, 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 will still be more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that while many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
