When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not just thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content in which I directly criticize the government … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
But in the year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, while in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in the US that closer ties with China may help the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”
Since the administration initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of force.
However after the upheaval 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 many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in China. Deng resided in America since 2019, after escaping the country due to pressure from the authorities.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted 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 regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with China.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in the East now as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. However, “The US isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by America, appear in decline.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government stated it would become an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for national security. The deals have left some investors concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to adopt measures that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
