As Vickie Wang, a rising performer, takes the stage in New York, she's not only thinking about what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share content in which I openly disparage the government … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s public library.
But in the year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, 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 president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”
Since the administration initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.
But after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in China. Deng has lived in the US for several years, after escaping China due to pressure from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
His pile on originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with China.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse 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 now as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. However, “The US isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for national security. The deals have made some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. In October, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
