As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from directly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I'd never publish openly material where I directly criticize the government … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s library system.
But in the year since the president was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect a new climate in America which many Chinese, or those with experience in China, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with China may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, many in China see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.
But since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously also feels familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in the US for several years, having fled the country due to harassment from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with China.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” said an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in the East now as too,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against 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 ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. However, “America isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities stated it would become an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have made some investors nervous that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved information. US courts have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, something that is impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that although numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
