As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded 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, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.
But over the past year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her fears mirror a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, find disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with China may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to events in China half a century ago.”
Since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers see American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent the same levels of violence.
But since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways seems familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He has lived in America since 2019, having fled China because of pressure from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on came from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East now as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “The US is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a new era of state intervention in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved information. US courts have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “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.”
Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
