When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she is not only thinking about what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly material in which I openly disparage the government … I think this is a habit from China.”
Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in 2022. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.
But over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears mirror a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, find eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with China may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.
But after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. He has lived in the US for several years, after escaping the country because of pressure from officials.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.
“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in China now as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “America isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by America, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, the US government stated it will take an investor in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to national security. These moves have left certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, an action that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, who are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
