When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she's not only thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content in which I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
But over the past year since the president was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her concerns mirror an emerging political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears that the US is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”
Since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, though without the same levels of force.
However since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the US, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng resided in the US for several years, having fled China because of harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
His pile on came from online peers, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in the East now as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to America for political inspiration, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is dangerous. However, “America isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”
The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the line between state and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities announced it will take an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or overturned numerous presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to speak for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
