When Vickie Wang, a rising performer, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly content where I directly criticize authorities … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.
But in the year after the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, find disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with China may help the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”
Ever since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, though without the same levels of violence.
However since the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng has lived in America since 2019, having fled China because of harassment from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with China.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in the East now as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. However, “The US isn't some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed vital to national security. These moves have made some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain 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 they only report on approved information. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
