When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not just thinking about which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I would 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 almost a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring the city's public library.
But over the past year after the president returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears reflect an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”
Since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit absent equivalent degrees of force.
But since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in the US since 2019, having fled the country because of pressure from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of public monitoring also has parallels with the East.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East now as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept 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 “the West, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the line between state and business is often blurred.
Recently, authorities announced it will take an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to national security. These moves have made some investors concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved information. US courts have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
