When Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, steps onto the stage in New York, she's not just considering which jokes to tell. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share material where I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.
However in the year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her concerns mirror a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with China may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that the US is shifting in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Ever since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without the same levels of violence.
However after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in America since 2019, having fled China because of harassment from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash came from online peers, rather than the state, but that kind of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China now as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become 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 … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities stated it would become an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
