As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not only thinking about what humor to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I would never publish openly content in which I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.
But in the year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her fears mirror a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to events in China half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, many in China see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without the same levels of violence.
However after the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, now a CCP critic, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in the US for several years, after escaping China due to pressure from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with China.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China today as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “America isn't a god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by America, appear declining.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between state and business is often blurred.
Recently, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain freer, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
