As the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes the stage in New York, she's not only thinking about which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material where I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.
But over the past year since Donald Trump 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.”
Wang’s concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without the same levels of violence.
But after the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between the US today and China is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng has lived in America since 2019, after escaping China because of pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – who were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is 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 surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to the US for political inspiration, in part because public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. But now, “America is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, appear declining.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once outspoken on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad