When Vickie Wang, a rising performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not only thinking about which jokes to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material in which I directly criticize the government … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
But in the year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her fears reflect an emerging climate in the US which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.
“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to events in China half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of force.
However after the upheaval of the early months under Trump subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, now a CCP critic, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in the US since 2019, after escaping China due to pressure from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His pile on originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in China now as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. But now, “America is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
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 somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the line between state and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to national security. These moves have made some investors concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. US courts have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be freer, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
