As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she is not only considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I'd never publish openly content where I directly criticize the government … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s public library.
However in the year after the president returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. And after decades of optimism in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”
Ever since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent the same levels of force.
But after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, ended up in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng has lived in the US for several years, having fled China due to pressure from the authorities.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His pile on came from online peers, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with China.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China now as too,” she said, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “The US is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by America, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have made some investors concerned that America is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved news. US courts have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures that were once confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once outspoken on US-China issues declined to speak for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
