When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she's not just considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share content where I directly criticize the government … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.
However over the past year after the president was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, while in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns mirror a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, find eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if the US is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”
Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though without the same levels of violence.
However after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, now a CCP critic, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US for several years, having fled China because of harassment from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in the United States – what should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with the East.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China today as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “The US is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between state and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have left some investors nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved information. US courts have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
