When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not only thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly content where I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a habit from China.”
Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.
But in the year after the president was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in China, find disturbingly similar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without the same levels of violence.
However since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in the US for several years, having fled the country because of pressure from officials.
In September, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired for making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with China.
“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China now as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained 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, “America isn't a god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”
The government's purchase of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between state and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have left some investors concerned that America is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
