When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she's not just considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she weighs which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share material where I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, 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 noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns mirror a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in the US that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that the US is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”
Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though absent the same levels of force.
However after the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he once faced in China. He has lived in America since 2019, after escaping the country due to pressure from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in the United States – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with China.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in China now as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “America isn't a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, authorities stated it will take an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have left some investors concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and China. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved news. US courts have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, an action that is impossible in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
