As Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share material in which I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
But in the year since the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging political reality in America which many Chinese, or those who have lived in China, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”
Since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent the same levels of force.
But after the turmoil of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in the US for several years, after escaping China due to pressure from officials.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with China.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in the East now as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in America 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 like himself once turned to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in China is dangerous. However, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The government's purchase of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to national security. The deals have left some investors nervous that America is entering a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions 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 reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, more 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 yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
