When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only considering what humor to tell. She also weighs what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publicly share content in which I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
Wang, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring New York’s library system.
However over the past year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears mirror an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed 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, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”
Since Trump initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without the same levels of violence.
However since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, now a CCP critic, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. He has lived in America since 2019, after escaping the country because of harassment from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who were fired for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in China now as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for national security. These moves have left some investors nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are starting to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
