As Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, steps onto the stage in New York, she's not only thinking about what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material where I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.
However over the past year after the president returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her fears mirror an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to sideline or undermine the elite … reminiscent of what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though without the same levels of violence.
But after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which variously also feels familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in America for several years, having fled the country due to harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on came from online peers, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance also has parallels 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,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in China today as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to the US for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in China is dangerous. However, “America is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by America, seems to be in decline.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between government and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms it considers essential for national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
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 defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, who are appointed by the state, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
