As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she's not only thinking about which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly content in which I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a habit from China.”
Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's public library.
However in the year since the president returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her fears reflect an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without the same levels of violence.
But after the turmoil of the early months under Trump subsided, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in China. He has lived in the US for several years, having fled China due to harassment from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with China.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China now as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “The US isn't a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, something that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that although numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
