As the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only considering what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material in which I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a habit from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's public library.
However over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in China, perceive as eerily similar. Enemies face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, many in China see American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent the same levels of violence.
But since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in America for several years, having fled China due to harassment from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
His backlash originated from online peers, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with China.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” said an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China today as too,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in China is dangerous. However, “The US is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government announced it would become an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in additional firms it considers vital to national security. The deals have left some investors concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that although numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
