As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she is not just considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I would never publish openly material in which I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.
However in the year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of hope in America 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 the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to events in China decades past.”
Since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, many in China have viewed US politics 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, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without the same levels of force.
However after the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, 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, having fled the country because of pressure from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with China.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in the East now as too,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to the US for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. However, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, authorities stated it will take an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that while many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
