When the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes her platform in New York, she's not just thinking about what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material in which I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a habit from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and exploring the city's public library.
But in the year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her concerns mirror a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, find disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with China may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”
Since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.
But since the turmoil of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, now a CCP critic, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He resided in America since 2019, after escaping the country due to harassment from officials.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with the East.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China today as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “America isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities stated it will take an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous presidential measures, an action that is impossible in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college once outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
