As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not just considering which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share content where I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.
However over the past year since the president was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “In China, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her fears reflect a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that the US is being pulled in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“America is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, though without equivalent degrees of violence.
But since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He resided in the US for several years, after escaping China because of pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash came from online peers, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with China.
“In terms of going after dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in the East now as too,” she said, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “America is no longer some kind of god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities announced it will take an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved news. US courts have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that although numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
