When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just considering what humor to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the administration,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I would never publish openly content where I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
But over the past year after the president returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, perceive as eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie 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 China could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent the same levels of force.
But after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which variously seems familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy recently, similar to what he once faced in China. He has lived in America for several years, having fled the country due to harassment from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with China.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China today as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to the US for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. However, “The US isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, 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 after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, appear declining.”
The government's purchase of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government announced it will take an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a new era of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain 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 they only report on approved news. US courts have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
