As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes her platform in New York, she is not just thinking about what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly content where I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.
But over the past year after Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her concerns reflect a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with the East may help the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, albeit absent equivalent degrees of force.
But since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng has lived in the US for several years, having fled the country due to harassment from the authorities.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring also has similarities with China.
“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China today as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to the US for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “America isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding 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 correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in US companies has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.
Recently, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have made some investors nervous that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, 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 the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that although numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to speak for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
