When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes the stage in New York, she's not just considering what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material in which I openly disparage the government … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.
But over the past year since the president was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her fears reflect a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”
Ever since Trump initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent the same levels of force.
But since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in America for several years, after escaping China because of harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with the East.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in the East now as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is dangerous. However, “The US isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.
Recently, authorities announced it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have left some investors nervous that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain freer, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
