When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I would never publicly share content in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and exploring New York’s library system.
But over the past year after the president was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her fears mirror an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with the East may help the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to events in China decades past.”
Since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent equivalent degrees of violence.
However since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in America for several years, having fled China because of harassment from the authorities.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China now as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, 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 … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with the East, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, something that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
