When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she's not just considering what humor to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I would never publicly share material where I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring the city's public library.
However in the year after Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears reflect an emerging political reality in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with China may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems that America is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, many in China see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without equivalent degrees of violence.
But after the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in America since 2019, having fled China due to pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in China today as too,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. But now, “America is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that although numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
