When Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about which jokes to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publicly share content where I directly criticize authorities … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
But in the year since Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears mirror a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with the East may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if America is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the masses to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”
Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, though without equivalent degrees of force.
However since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in America since 2019, having fled the country because of harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
His pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in China today as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “America isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, appear in decline.”
The government's purchase of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between state and business is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies it considers vital to national security. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, something that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
