As Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not just considering what humor to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share content in which I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and delving into the city's public library.
However over the past year since the president was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew the boundaries, while in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns mirror a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with the East may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to events in China decades past.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without the same levels of force.
However since the upheaval of the early months under Trump subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between the US today and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he once faced in China. Deng has lived in America for several years, having fled the country because of harassment from the authorities.
In September, after the death of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with the East.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China now as too,” she said, stating that there were now fears 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 once turned to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't a god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn parallels with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities announced it will take an investor in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain freer, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
