When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she's not just considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material in which I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.
However in the year since the president was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her concerns mirror a new climate in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in China, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with China could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is being pulled in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“America is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to what happened in China decades past.”
Since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without equivalent degrees of force.
But after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the US, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in the US for several years, after escaping the country due to pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash came from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has similarities with China.
“In terms of going after dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in China today as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is dangerous. However, “America is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … 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 “the West, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between state and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government announced it will take an investor in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for national security. These moves have left some investors nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
