As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about what humor to deliver. She also weighs which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material where I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and exploring the city's public library.
But in the year since the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging political reality in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, find eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that closer ties with China may help the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears that the US is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent the same levels of violence.
But since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in China. He has lived in the US for several years, having fled the country due to harassment from officials.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash originated from online peers, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with China.
“Regarding going after dissenters and starting to surveil public speech on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East today as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “The US is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the line between state and business is often blurred.
Recently, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed vital to national security. The deals have left some investors nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of suppression in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
