As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not just considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she weighs which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I'd never publish openly material where I directly criticize the government … I think it's a habit from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
But in the year since Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or those with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that closer ties with China could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to sideline or undermine the elite … reminiscent of what happened in China half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent equivalent degrees of force.
But since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng has lived in America for several years, having fled China because of pressure from officials.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with the East.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China now as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “The US isn't a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than the US'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 promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the line between government and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, the US government stated it will take an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have left some investors concerned that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on approved news. US courts have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
