As the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes the stage in New York, she's not only thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it's not recorded for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material in which I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.
But over the past year after Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears mirror an emerging political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The president demands absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of optimism in the US that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, many in China see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without the same levels of force.
But after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which variously also feels familiar 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 Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he once faced in China. He has lived in the US since 2019, after escaping the country because of harassment from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China today as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. However, “The US is no longer some kind of god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between state and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government announced it will take an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, an action that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
