When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not just considering what humor to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share content where I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to lectures, protests, and exploring the city's public library.
However in the year since the president was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her concerns reflect a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”
Since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without the same levels of violence.
But after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in the US since 2019, having fled the country due to pressure from officials.
In September, after the death of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears parallels with China.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in China today as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. However, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The government's purchase of shares in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed vital to national security. These moves have made some investors concerned that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved information. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
