As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she's not only thinking about which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share material where I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring the city's public library.
However over the past year since Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, find eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to events in China half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, albeit absent the same levels of force.
But since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in America for several years, having fled China due to harassment from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual 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 attempting to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with China.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in the East now as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to America for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “America is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented 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.
On Monday, authorities announced it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have left some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. 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 suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
