When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes her platform in New York, she's not only considering which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share content where I openly disparage the government … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.
But in the year since the president was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, find disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. And after decades of optimism in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to what happened in China decades past.”
Since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though absent the same levels of force.
However since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng has lived in the US for several years, having fled China because of harassment from officials.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in China today as too,” she said, stating 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 legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. However, “The US isn't some kind of god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities announced it will take an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have left some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and China. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
