As the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she's not just thinking about which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publicly share material where I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a habit from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.
But in the year since the president was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears mirror an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with China may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if America is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to events in China decades past.”
Since Trump initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without equivalent degrees of force.
However since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he once faced in China. He resided in the US since 2019, after escaping China because of pressure from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered 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 such a thing would occur in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His backlash came from online peers, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with China.
“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in China now as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between state and business is often blurred.
Recently, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for national security. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once outspoken on US-China issues 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
