As Vickie Wang, a rising performer, steps onto the stage in New York, she's not just considering what humor to deliver. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material where I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and exploring New York’s library system.
But over the past year after Donald Trump returned to office again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears reflect an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is shifting in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, many in China see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without the same levels of violence.
But since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in the US since 2019, after escaping China due to harassment from officials.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His pile on originated from online peers, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with China.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in China now as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “The US is no longer some kind of god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government announced it would become an investor in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have made some investors concerned that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved information. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that although numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
