When Vickie Wang, a rising performer, takes the stage in New York, she's not only thinking about what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material where I openly disparage authorities … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and delving into the city's public library.
But over the past year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described him as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”
Since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, albeit absent the same levels of violence.
But after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng has lived in the US since 2019, after escaping the country because of pressure from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in China now as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to the US for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “The US isn't a god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable 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 environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for national security. The deals have left some investors nervous that America is entering a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
