As Vickie Wang, a rising performer, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material in which I openly disparage the government … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s public library.
But over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her fears reflect an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if America is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“America is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order 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 federal institutions early on of his term, many in China have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, albeit absent the same levels of force.
However after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in America since 2019, after escaping China due to pressure from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on originated from online peers, instead of the government, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with the East.
“Regarding going after dissenters and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in the East today as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to the US for political inspiration, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “America isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear declining.”
The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the line between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved information. US courts have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, 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 outspoken on US-China issues declined to speak for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
