As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she's not just thinking about what humor to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly content in which I directly criticize the government … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, resided in Shanghai for nearly ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.
But in the year since the president returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her concerns mirror an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems that the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”
Since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without the same levels of violence.
However since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US for several years, having fled the country because of pressure from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash came from online peers, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China now as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to the US for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. 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 appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the line between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are starting to take precautions previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to speak for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
