When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she's not just considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I'd never publish openly content in which I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and exploring the city's public library.
However over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”
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 the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without the same levels of force.
But since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, now a CCP critic, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng has lived in the US for several years, after escaping the country because of pressure from officials.
In September, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with the East.
“In terms of going after dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in China now as too,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “America is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities stated it would become an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have made some investors nervous that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
