When the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not only thinking about what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content where I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a habit from China.”
Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring the city's library system.
However over the past year since Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The president expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that closer ties with China may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Ever since the administration unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent equivalent degrees of violence.
However after the turmoil of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He has lived in America for several years, after escaping China because of harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with China.
“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in the East today as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “America is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about 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 post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn parallels with the East, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to national security. The deals have made some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that although numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college once outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
