As Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she's not only thinking about which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly content in which I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s library system.
But in the year after Donald Trump returned to office again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears mirror a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, many in China see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without the same levels of violence.
But after the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in America for several years, after escaping China because of harassment from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash came from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China now as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. However, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, the government 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, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the line between government and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
