When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she's not only considering what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly content where I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.
But in the year after the president was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, while here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns mirror a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that America is shifting in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, 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 mobilisation of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though without equivalent degrees of violence.
However since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, now a CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He has lived in America since 2019, after escaping China because of pressure from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired for making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with China.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China today as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by America, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, authorities stated it will take an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies it considers essential for national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain freer, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
