When Vickie Wang, a rising performer, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only considering what humor to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly content in which I openly disparage the government … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.
But over the past year after Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears mirror a new climate in the US which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with China may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”
Since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of violence.
But since the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in America since 2019, after escaping the country due to pressure from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in China today as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, 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 a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, 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 seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have made some investors concerned that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. US courts have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
