As the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes the stage in New York, she's not only thinking about what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I'd never publicly share content where I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost a decade, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and delving into the city's public library.
But over the past year since the president returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in China, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with China could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems that the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.
“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, many in China see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without the same levels of violence.
However since the upheaval of the early months under Trump subsided, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the US, which variously seems familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in the US for several years, after escaping the country due to harassment from officials.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with China.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in China now as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “The US isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between state and business is often blurred.
Recently, the US government announced it will take an investor in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for national security. The deals have made some investors concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain freer, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
