As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she's not only thinking about what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material in which I openly disparage the government … I think this is a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.
However over the past year after the president was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, while here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her concerns mirror an emerging political reality in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that America is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”
Ever since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.
But since the upheaval of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in America for several years, after escaping China because of harassment from officials.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and monitoring open discourse about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in China now as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, 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, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's purchase of shares in US companies has prompted comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for national security. The deals have left some investors concerned that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once outspoken on US-China issues refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
