As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes the stage in New York, she is not only considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly material where I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a habit from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring the city's library system.
But in the year after the president was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or undermine the elite … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”
Since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without the same levels of violence.
But since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in China. He has lived in America since 2019, having fled China because of harassment from officials.
In September, after the death of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – what typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
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 going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in China today as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “America is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by America, seems to be declining.”
The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have left some investors concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
