When Vickie Wang, a rising performer, takes the stage in New York, she is not just considering which jokes to deliver. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly material where I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
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 embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
However over the past year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her concerns reflect an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with the East may help the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, many in China see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent equivalent degrees of force.
But since the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in America for several years, having fled China due to harassment from the authorities.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – what typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears parallels with China.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China now as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. However, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”
The government's purchase of shares in US companies 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 a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have made some investors nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved news. US courts have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once vocal on US-China issues declined to speak for this article. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
