When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she's not just thinking about what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content in which I directly criticize the government … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and exploring the city's public library.
However in the year since the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her concerns mirror an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, find disturbingly similar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if America is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China see American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.
But since the upheaval of the early months under Trump subsided, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in the US for several years, having fled the country because of harassment from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on came from online peers, rather than the state, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with China.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China today as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “The US isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”
The government's purchase of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have left some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, something that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
