When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not just considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly content where I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s library system.
However in the year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears reflect an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is being pulled in China's path, rather than 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 attempting to rally the masses to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without equivalent degrees of force.
However since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest 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, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He resided in America for several years, after escaping the country because of pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – 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 espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in the United States – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with China.
“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in China now as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “The US isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn parallels with the East, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
Recently, the US government announced it will take an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to national security. The deals have left some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved news. US courts have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
