As Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, takes the stage in New York, she's not only considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share material where I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.
But over the past year after Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her fears reflect an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.
“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to events in the country decades past.”
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 via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though without equivalent degrees of force.
However since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he once faced in China. Deng resided in America since 2019, having fled China due to harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China today as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to the US for political inspiration, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “America isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, the US government stated it will take an investor in a startup focused on rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in private industry.
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 Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved news. US courts have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
