As Vickie Wang, a rising performer, takes her platform in New York, she is not only considering which jokes to deliver. She also weighs which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publicly share content in which I directly criticize the government … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
But in the year after the president returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in China decades past.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China see American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without the same levels of force.
But since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in America for several years, having fled China because of pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
His backlash came from online peers, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with China.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and monitoring public speech on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in China today as too,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't 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, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities announced it would become an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have made some investors nervous that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into 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 China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad