As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not just considering what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publish openly content where I openly disparage authorities … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s public library.
But over the past year since the president returned to office again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears mirror an emerging climate in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems that the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses to sideline or undermine the elite … reminiscent of events in China decades past.”
Since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without equivalent degrees of force.
But since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in China. Deng resided in America for several years, after escaping the country because of pressure from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash came from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East now as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “America isn't a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the line between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have left some investors concerned that America is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
