When Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, steps onto the stage in New York, she's not only thinking about what humor to tell. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she ensures it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly material where I directly criticize authorities … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.
But over the past year after the president returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, while in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her concerns reflect an emerging political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people with experience in China, perceive as eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or weaken the elite … reminiscent of what happened in China half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent the same levels of violence.
However after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in America since 2019, after escaping China because of pressure from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – what typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China now as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. However, “America isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “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,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become an investor in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms it considers essential for national security. The deals have left some investors nervous that America is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved news. US courts have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
