When Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she's not only considering which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I'd never publicly share content where I directly criticize the government … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.
However in the year after the president returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her fears reflect a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the masses to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Ever since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without the same levels of force.
But after the upheaval of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in the US since 2019, having fled the country because of harassment from officials.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – who were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on came from online peers, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring bears parallels with the East.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in China today as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in the country is risky. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take an investor in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, something that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
