As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she's not just thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share material in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in 2022. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.
But in the year after the president was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her fears mirror a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. And after decades of optimism in the US that closer ties with China may help the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is shifting in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without the same levels of force.
However since the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in America for several years, having fled China because of harassment from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – who were fired for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China today as too,” she said, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against 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 political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “America is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous presidential measures, an action that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to speak for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
