When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she is not only thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material where I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a habit from China.”
Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.
But in the year after Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her concerns mirror a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of optimism in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that America is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to sideline or undermine the elite … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy 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 execute the leader’s will, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though without equivalent degrees of force.
However since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US since 2019, having fled the country because of pressure from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking 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,” Deng said.
His backlash came from online peers, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring also has parallels with the East.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in the East now as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take an investor in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have left certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, something that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
