When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not just considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share content in which I openly disparage the government … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.
But in the year after the president returned to office again, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns reflect a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. And after decades of optimism in America that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”
Ever since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, many in China see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent equivalent degrees of violence.
However after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He resided in America since 2019, after escaping China due to pressure from officials.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash came from online peers, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with China.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in China today as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the line between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities stated it would become an investor in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have left some investors nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous presidential measures, something that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that although numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures that were once associated with repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
