When Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she's not only considering which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share material in which I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and exploring the city's library system.
But in the year since Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears mirror an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of optimism in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears that the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of violence.
However after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng has lived in the US since 2019, having fled China because of harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in the United States – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with the East.
“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East now as too,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in China is dangerous. However, “The US is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, following similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have left some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling 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 Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
