As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she's not only considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share content in which I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, resided in Shanghai for nearly a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.
However over the past year after the president returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns mirror a new climate in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, find eerily familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with China may help the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it seems that the US is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Ever since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent equivalent degrees of violence.
But after the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in America since 2019, having fled the country due to pressure from the authorities.
In September, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with China.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China now as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “The US isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, appear declining.”
The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to national security. The deals have made some investors nervous that the US is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
