When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not only considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly content in which I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and exploring New York’s library system.
However over the past year after the president was elected again, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears reflect a new climate in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, find disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. And after decades of optimism in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.
But after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, similar to what he once faced in China. He resided in the US for several years, having fled the country due to pressure from officials.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others 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 was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on originated from online peers, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in China now as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. However, “America is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, the US government announced it would become an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for national security. These moves have left certain stakeholders concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved news. US courts have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
