When the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share material in which I openly disparage the government … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and exploring the city's library system.
But over the past year after the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns mirror a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, find eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without equivalent degrees of force.
But since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the US, which in different ways seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in America since 2019, after escaping China because of pressure from officials.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His backlash originated from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China today as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn parallels with China, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
Recently, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for national security. The deals have left some investors nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, something that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
