When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not only considering what humor to tell. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly content in which I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into the city's public library.
But in the year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The president expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”
Since Trump unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China have viewed US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent the same levels of force.
However since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in America for several years, having fled China due to pressure from officials.
In September, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on came from online peers, rather than the state, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with the East.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in the East today as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. The deals have made some investors concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that although numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, who are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college once vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
