When the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she's not just considering what humor to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly content in which I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a habit from China.”
Wang, 39, resided in Shanghai for nearly a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s public library.
But in the year after the president returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her fears reflect a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or those with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in China decades past.”
Since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent the same levels of force.
However after the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between the US today and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US since 2019, after escaping the country due to pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with China.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China now as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “America isn't a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take an investor in a startup focused on rare earth processing, following similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to national security. The deals have left some investors concerned that America is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
