When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not only thinking about which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I'd never publish openly material where I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.
However in the year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, while in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in China, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears that the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”
Ever since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, many in China see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent the same levels of force.
But since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he once faced in China. He has lived in the US for several years, after escaping China due to pressure from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with China.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in the East now as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to America for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. However, “The US is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the line between state and business is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities announced it would become an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to national security. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved news. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
