When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not only considering which jokes to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly material where I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.
However in the year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, while in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in China, find eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with China may help the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the masses to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Since the administration initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent the same levels of violence.
But after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided 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 “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of public monitoring also has parallels with China.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in the East now as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government announced it will take an investor in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved news. US courts have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
