When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she's not just considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly material in which I openly disparage the government … I think this is a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring the city's library system.
But in the year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with China may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to events in China half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of violence.
However since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in the US for several years, after escaping China because of harassment from officials.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash originated from online peers, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring bears parallels with the East.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in the East now as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “The US is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities announced it would become an investor in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to national security. These moves have made some investors concerned that America is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned numerous presidential measures, something that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
