When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.
But over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her fears reflect an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if America is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”
Ever since Trump unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent the same levels of force.
But after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in America for several years, having fled China due to harassment from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in the United States – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in the East today as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “The US isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”
The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
