When the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes the stage in New York, she is not just thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material where I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.
But over the past year since the president was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns mirror a new climate in America which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”
Ever since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, many in China see American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.
But since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in America for several years, having fled the country due to pressure from officials.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on came from online peers, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with China.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in the East today as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, in part because public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “The US is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between state and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved information. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests 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 refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
