When the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes the stage in New York, she is not just considering which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I would never publish openly content where I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
But in the year after Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, while here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her fears mirror an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to events in China decades past.”
Ever since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, many in China see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, though absent the same levels of violence.
But since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. He resided in America for several years, having fled the country due to pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs 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 attempting to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring bears parallels with the East.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and monitoring open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East today as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to America for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. However, “The US is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America 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 the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved news. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that although numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
