When Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, takes the stage in New York, she is not just thinking about which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on 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 has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, find disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that closer ties with China could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if America is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without equivalent degrees of force.
But after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in America since 2019, after escaping the country because of harassment from officials.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in the United States – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring bears parallels with China.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in China today as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government announced it would become an investor in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting 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 declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
