As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes the stage in New York, she is not only considering which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material where I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in 2022. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.
But in the year since the president was elected again, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her concerns reflect a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in China, find disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … reminiscent of what happened in China half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though without equivalent degrees of violence.
But since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he once faced in China. He has lived in America for several years, having fled China due to pressure from officials.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash came from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with China.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in China today as too,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to the US for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “The US is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, seems to be declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America might face its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain freer, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, who are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
