As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she's not just thinking about which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.
However over the past year since the president returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns mirror a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, find eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without equivalent degrees of force.
However since the upheaval of the early months under Trump subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US for several years, after escaping China because of harassment from the authorities.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
His pile on originated from online peers, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” said an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East today as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “The US isn't some kind of god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’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 investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities stated it would become an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for national security. These moves have left some investors concerned that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in private industry.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved news. US courts have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that although numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
