When Vickie Wang, a rising performer, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only thinking about what humor to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I'd never publish openly content where I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.
But in the year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears mirror an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, find disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that closer ties with China could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the masses to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to events in China half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, though without the same levels of violence.
However after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between the US today and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US since 2019, after escaping the country because of pressure from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash came from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.
“Regarding going after dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East now as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn parallels with China, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for national security. The deals have made some investors concerned that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
