As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not only considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share material where I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, 39, resided in Shanghai for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.
But over the past year since the president was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears reflect an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that the US is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the masses to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in China decades past.”
Since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without the same levels of force.
However after the upheaval of the early months under Trump subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He has lived in America for several years, having fled China due to pressure from officials.
In September, after the death of a public figure, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – who were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash came from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring bears parallels with China.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China today as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “America isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities stated it would become an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved news. US courts have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once outspoken on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
