When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she's not only considering what humor to tell. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly content where I directly criticize the government … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.
However over the past year since the president returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns reflect a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The president demands absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent the same levels of violence.
However after the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously also feels familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in China. Deng has lived in the US since 2019, having fled China because of harassment from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – who were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with China.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in the East today as too,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. However, “The US is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed America 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, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by America, seems to be declining.”
The government's purchase of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between state and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for national security. These moves have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved information. US courts have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
