As Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not only considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I would never publicly share content in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a habit from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.
But in the year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her concerns mirror a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.
But after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he once faced in China. Deng has lived in the US since 2019, after escaping China because of pressure from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who were fired for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with China.
“In terms of going after dissenters and starting to surveil public speech on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in the East today as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “America is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for national security. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
