As the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she's not just considering what humor to tell. She also weighs which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publish openly content in which I openly disparage the government … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring the city's library system.
But over the past year since the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, while in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with China may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to events in China half a century ago.”
Since the administration unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, though without equivalent degrees of force.
However since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in America since 2019, having fled China because of pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in the East now as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have left certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved news. US courts have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that is impossible in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate 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 government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college once vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
