When Vickie Wang, a rising performer, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not just considering what humor to tell. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share content where I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s library system.
But over the past year after the president returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood 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 those who have lived in the country, find eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”
Ever since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though without the same levels of violence.
But since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He has lived in the US for several years, after escaping China because of harassment from the authorities.
In September, following the passing 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 – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
His pile on came from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China now as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to the US for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear declining.”
The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. The deals have made some investors nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
