When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not just considering which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share content where I directly criticize the government … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and exploring the city's public library.
However in the year after the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears mirror a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”
Since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, many in China see American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, though without equivalent degrees of violence.
However after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the US, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he once faced in China. He resided in America for several years, after escaping the country due to harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring public speech on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in the East now as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. However, “America is no longer some kind of god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university 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 in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
