As Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she is not just thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share content where I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and exploring the city's library system.
However in the year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to marginalize or weaken the elite … reminiscent of what happened in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, albeit absent equivalent degrees of force.
However since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He resided in the US for several years, having fled the country because of pressure from officials.
In September, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with China.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China today as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is dangerous. However, “America isn't a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”
The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities stated it will take an investor in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved information. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
