As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only considering what humor to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I'd never publicly share material where I directly criticize authorities … I believe this is a habit from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
However over the past year since the president returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her fears mirror a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without the same levels of violence.
But after the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US for several years, after escaping the country due to pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and monitoring open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in China now as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “The US is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government announced it would become an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have left certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved news. US courts have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
