As Vickie Wang, a rising performer, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only considering which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share material in which I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.
However in the year after the president returned to office for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her fears reflect an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, find disturbingly similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with China may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”
Since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without the same levels of force.
But after the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in the US since 2019, after escaping China because of pressure from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with China.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China today as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to the US for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. However, “America isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn parallels with China, where the line between state and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities announced it will take an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies it considers vital to national security. The deals have left some investors nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. In October, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college once vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
