When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share content where I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in 2022. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
But over the past year since the president was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns mirror a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that closer ties with China could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent the same levels of force.
However after the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in America for several years, having fled China because of harassment from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered 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 hadn't thought that something like this would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash came from online peers, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with China.
“Regarding going after dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in China today as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in China is dangerous. However, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities announced it will take a shareholder in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to national security. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved information. US courts have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, something that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
