When Vickie Wang, a rising performer, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she's not just considering which jokes to deliver. She also weighs which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly content in which I directly criticize the government … I think this is a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and exploring the city's public library.
But in the year after Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears mirror an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is being pulled in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of violence.
However since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously also feels familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in China. Deng resided in America for several years, having fled the country due to harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash originated from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with the East.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in China now as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “America isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that although numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college once outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
