As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she's not just thinking about which jokes to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly content where I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
However in the year after the president was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her fears mirror an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, find disturbingly similar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”
Ever since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though without the same levels of violence.
However after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in America since 2019, having fled China due to pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in the East now as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “America isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on US-China issues declined to speak for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
