When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she is not only considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the administration,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.
However in the year since Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, while here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her concerns mirror an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, find eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Since Trump unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.
However since the upheaval of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between the US today and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He has lived in the US for several years, having fled the country due to pressure from officials.
In September, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in the East now as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of 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, typically, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has also drawn parallels with China, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities announced 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 made certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved information. US courts have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
