When Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about which jokes to tell. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material where I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a habit from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and exploring the city's public library.
However in the year since the president was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, 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 those who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.
“America is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to events in China half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.
However since the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in the US for several years, after escaping the country due to pressure from officials.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash came from online peers, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring also has parallels with the East.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in China now as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “America is no longer some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, seems to be in decline.”
The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities stated it would become an investor in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have made some investors nervous that America is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
