As Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not just thinking about which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly material where I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.
But in the year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. 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 was evident. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems that the US is shifting in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China see American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.
But since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the US, which variously also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, 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 for several years, after escaping China because of harassment from the authorities.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – what should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on originated from online peers, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring bears parallels with China.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in China today as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “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 beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to national security. These moves have left some investors concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved information. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
