When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she's not just thinking about what humor to deliver. She also weighs which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I would never publish openly content in which I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.
But over the past year after the president returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears reflect a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that closer ties with China may help the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of force.
But since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up 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, having fled China due to pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – 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 hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His pile on originated from online peers, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in the East today as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “The US isn't a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable 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 investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with the East, where the line between state and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have left certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved news. US courts have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
