When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not only thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share material in which I openly disparage the government … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.
But in the year after the president returned to office for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, while in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her fears reflect a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that closer ties with China may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if the US is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”
Since Trump initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit absent the same levels of force.
However after the turmoil of the early months under Trump subsided, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US for several years, after escaping China because of harassment from officials.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His backlash originated from online peers, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in China now as too,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “America is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms it considers vital to national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on approved information. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
