As the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes the stage in New York, she's not only considering what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly content in which I directly criticize the government … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
But in the year since the president returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I knew the boundaries, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her fears mirror a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He's called him as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with China could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears that America is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in China decades past.”
Ever since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, though without equivalent degrees of violence.
However after the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the US, which variously seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. He has lived in the US for several years, having fled China because of harassment from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with China.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in the East now as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. However, “America is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn parallels with the East, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to national security. These moves have left some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
