When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes the stage in New York, she is not just thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material in which I directly criticize the government … I think this is a habit from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
However in the year after the president was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears reflect a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.
However after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He resided in the US since 2019, having fled China because of pressure from officials.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with China.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China now as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “America isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, appear in decline.”
The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous presidential measures, something that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are starting to take precautions previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
