When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not just considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content where I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy 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 “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, while in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in China, find eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in China decades past.”
Since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without the same levels of force.
However after the turmoil of the early months under Trump subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He has lived in the US for several years, after escaping the country because of pressure from officials.
In September, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash came from online peers, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with China.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in the East now as too,” she said, stating that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “America is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government announced it will take an investor in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have left some investors concerned that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in private industry.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
