When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes the stage in New York, she is not just considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share material where I directly criticize the government … I think it's a habit from China.”
Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.
However in the year since the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears reflect a new climate in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”
Since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without the same levels of force.
But after the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in the US for several years, after escaping the country due to pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but such of public monitoring bears parallels with China.
“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring public speech on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in the East now as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. However, “America isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities stated it would become an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have left some investors nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, an action that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that although numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college once outspoken on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
