When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only considering which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I'd never publicly share content in which I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a habit from China.”
Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s library system.
But over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her fears reflect a new climate in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, find disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with China could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”
Since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of violence.
However after the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the US, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng has lived in America since 2019, after escaping the country due to pressure from the authorities.
In September, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – who were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with China.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East today as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “The US is no longer some kind of god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for national security. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved information. US courts have halted or overturned numerous presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to speak for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
