When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just considering which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material in which I openly disparage the government … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.
However in the year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, find eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent equivalent degrees of violence.
However since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. He has lived in America since 2019, after escaping China due to pressure from officials.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in the United States – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with China.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and monitoring open discourse about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in the East now as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against teachers, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, 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 more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between state and business is often blurred.
Recently, the US government stated it would become an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to national security. The deals have left some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous presidential measures, an action that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
