When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only considering which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share content where I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
But over the past year since the president returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears reflect a new climate in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in the US that closer ties with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, many in China see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent the same levels of force.
But after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in the US for several years, after escaping China due to pressure from the authorities.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His backlash came from online peers, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with China.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in the East now as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have made some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in private industry.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved news. US courts have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
