When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not only considering what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content in which I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.
But in the year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her concerns reflect a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, find eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“America is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to events in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent the same levels of violence.
But after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng resided in the US since 2019, after escaping China due to harassment from the authorities.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East today as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to the US for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “America is no longer a ideal 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, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for national security. These moves have left certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on approved news. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
