When the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only considering what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly material where I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.
But in the year since the president was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her fears reflect an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to events in China decades past.”
Since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent the same levels of force.
But after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, ended up in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in the US since 2019, having fled the country because of harassment from the authorities.
In September, after the death of a public figure, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His pile on originated from online peers, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in China today as too,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. However, “America isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”
The government's purchase of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
Recently, authorities stated it would become an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to national security. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that is impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
