When Vickie Wang, a rising performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not only considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I would never publish openly content in which I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.
However over the past year since Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in China, find eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that the US is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent the same levels of violence.
However since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in America for several years, having fled the country because of harassment from officials.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in China now as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “The US isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, authorities stated it would become an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers vital to national security. The deals have left some investors concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that while many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. Administrators, who are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to speak for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
