When Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she's not only considering which jokes to deliver. She also weighs which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share material where I directly criticize authorities … I believe this is a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.
But in the year after the president was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her fears mirror a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”
Since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of violence.
However since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he once faced in China. Deng resided in America for several years, having fled China because of harassment from officials.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash originated from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in the East now as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to the US for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “The US isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”
The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. The deals have left some investors nervous that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved information. US courts have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
