As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not only considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly material in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and exploring the city's public library.
However in the year since the president was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her concerns mirror a new climate in the US which many Chinese, or people with experience in China, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The president demands absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with China may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, though absent the same levels of violence.
But since the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng resided in America for several years, having fled China due to pressure from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people across the US – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on came from online peers, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears parallels with China.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in China today as too,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “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 America, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have left certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are starting to take precautions previously associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
