When Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, takes her platform in New York, she's not only considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share content in which I directly criticize the government … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.
However in the year since the president returned to office again, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her concerns mirror a new climate in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, find eerily familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with the East may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if America is being pulled in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to marginalize or undermine the elite … reminiscent of what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.
But since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in China. He has lived in the US since 2019, after escaping the country because of pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with China.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China today as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “America is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the line between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, the US government stated it would become an investor in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have left some investors nervous that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. US courts have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that while many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
