When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she's not just considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly content in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe this is a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s public library.
But in the year since the president was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her concerns reflect a new climate in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China see American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent the same levels of force.
But since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in the US for several years, after escaping China due to harassment from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in China today as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities announced it will take a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have made some investors concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be freer, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
