When Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not just thinking about what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly content in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe this is a habit from China.”
Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.
But in the year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew the boundaries, while here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears mirror an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, find eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it seems that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.
But since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which variously seems familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in America since 2019, having fled China because of harassment from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His pile on originated from online peers, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in China now as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities announced it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college once outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
