As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she is not only considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly material in which I directly criticize the government … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for almost 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 freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
But over the past year after Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears mirror a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in China, find disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems that the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, many in China see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.
But after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the US, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in China. He resided in America for several years, having fled China because of pressure from officials.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with China.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China today as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between government and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for national security. The deals have left some investors nervous that America is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain 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 they only report on approved information. US courts have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face its gravest challenge 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 US universities capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
