When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes her platform in New York, she is not only considering what humor to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly content in which I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.
But in the year since the president was elected again, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her fears reflect an emerging climate in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, find eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is shifting in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”
Since Trump unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, many in China see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent equivalent degrees of force.
But since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US for several years, having fled the country due to harassment from officials.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in the East today as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “America isn't some kind of god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government announced it will take an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to national security. These moves have left some investors nervous that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or overturned numerous presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, who are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
