As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about which jokes to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly material where I directly criticize authorities … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
However in the year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her fears reflect a new climate in America which many Chinese, or those with experience in China, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with China could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China have viewed US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of violence.
But after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in America for several years, having fled the country because of harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – who were fired for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China now as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “The US isn't a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.
Recently, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for national security. These moves have left some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, something that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
