As Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, takes her platform in New York, she's not only thinking about which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.
But over the past year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her fears reflect a new climate in the US which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, find eerily similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with China could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is shifting in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent the same levels of violence.
However since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has emerged in the US, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He has lived in America since 2019, having fled China due to harassment from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with the East.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and monitoring open discourse about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China now as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is dangerous. However, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
Recently, the US government announced it will take an investor in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have made some investors concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that although numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
