As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she's not only considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it's not recorded for online platforms. “I would never publish openly content where I openly disparage the government … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
However over the past year since Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears reflect an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears that the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the masses to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to events in China half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of force.
But since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US since 2019, having fled China because of harassment from the authorities.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash came from online peers, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with China.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring public speech on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in the East now as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “America isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide 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 sort of painful to accept this … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.
Recently, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have made some investors concerned that America is embarking on 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 among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, an action that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
