When Vickie Wang, a rising performer, takes the stage in New York, she's not only considering which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share content in which I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.
But in the year since the president was elected again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her concerns mirror a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, find eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with China may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent the same levels of force.
But after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously also feels familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in the US since 2019, having fled China due to pressure from the authorities.
In September, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash originated from online peers, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with China.
“Regarding going after dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China today as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. However, “The US is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept 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 “the West, as represented by America, seems to be declining.”
The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has also drawn parallels with China, where the line between state and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, the US government stated it will take an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders concerned that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
