As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not only considering which jokes to tell. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I would never publish openly material where I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a habit from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.
But over the past year since the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears mirror an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or those who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with China may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that the US is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to America, albeit absent the same levels of violence.
But after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the US, which in different ways seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between the US today and China is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He has lived in America for several years, having fled China because of pressure from officials.
In September, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired for making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash came from online peers, instead of the government, but such of public monitoring bears parallels with the East.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in China now as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to the US for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by America, appear in decline.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between government 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 other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have left some investors concerned that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and China. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures that were once associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
