When the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not just thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I'd never publish openly content in which I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.
However in the year after the president returned to office 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'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her fears mirror a new climate in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, find eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. 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. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with China could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if the US is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”
Since the administration initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, though absent the same levels of violence.
However since the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in America since 2019, after escaping China because of harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with China.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring open discourse about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in the East now as too,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “The US isn't a god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “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 tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities stated it will take an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for national security. These moves have left some investors concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
