When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not only thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share content in which I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into the city's public library.
However in the year since the president returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her fears mirror a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with China may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if America is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, many in China see American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.
However since the turmoil of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He resided in America for several years, after escaping China because of pressure from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
His pile on originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with China.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China now as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “The US is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of 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, exemplified by America, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between state and business is often blurred.
Recently, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have left some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and China. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, something that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be freer, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
