When Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I'd never publish openly material in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and exploring the city's library system.
But in the year after Donald Trump returned to office again, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her concerns reflect an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with the East may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems that America is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of violence.
But since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, similar to what he once faced in China. He resided in the US since 2019, after escaping the country because of pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with China.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in the East now as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “America isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with the East, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have made some investors nervous that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved news. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. Administrators, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
