As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she's not only considering which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material where I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.
But over the past year after Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns mirror a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that closer ties with China could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of what happened in China half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.
But after the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in the US for several years, having fled China due to harassment from officials.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in the East now as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”
The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn parallels with the East, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, something that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to adopt measures that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
