When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto the stage in New York, she's not only considering which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly content where I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and exploring the city's library system.
But in the year since the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her concerns reflect a new climate in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with China may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if America is being pulled in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in China decades past.”
Ever since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, though without the same levels of force.
However after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the US, which in different ways seems recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng has lived in the US for several years, after escaping the country because of pressure from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East now as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. However, “America isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities stated it would become an investor in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, 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, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college once vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
