When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she's not just considering which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share material in which I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for nearly a decade, departing in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into the city's public library.
But in the year since the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, while here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Enemies face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with China may help the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to sideline or undermine the elite … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”
Since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, though without the same levels of violence.
But after the turmoil of the early months under Trump subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US for several years, after escaping the country due to harassment from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in China today as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities stated it would become an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have made some investors concerned that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
