As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not just thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly content where I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a habit from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.
However in the year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears mirror an emerging political reality in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, find eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. And after decades of optimism in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“America is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or weaken the elite … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though without equivalent degrees of violence.
However since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. He resided in the US since 2019, having fled China because of harassment from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on came from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with China.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in the East today as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “America is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between government and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities announced it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on approved information. US courts have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
