When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she's not only considering which jokes to deliver. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share content in which I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's public library.
However in the year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears mirror a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, find eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, many in China see American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though absent equivalent degrees of force.
However after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously also feels familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between the US today and China is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US since 2019, after escaping the country due to pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in the East today as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to the US for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “The US isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted comparisons with the East, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to national security. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, something that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that although numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
