When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she's not just thinking about which jokes to deliver. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share content where I directly criticize authorities … I believe this is a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.
However over the past year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, while in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears that America is being pulled in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Ever since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without the same levels of force.
But after the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng has lived in the US for several years, after escaping China because of pressure from officials.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in the United States – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with China.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in the East today as too,” she said, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in the country is risky. But now, “America isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between government and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following similar stakes in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase 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 refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved information. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures that were once 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 fear of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
