When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not only considering which jokes to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from directly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly material in which I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.
But over the past year since Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, find eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of optimism in America that closer ties with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“America is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to events in the country decades past.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent the same levels of force.
But after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, now a CCP critic, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He resided in America since 2019, after escaping the country because of pressure from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash came from online peers, rather than the state, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with the East.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in China now as too,” she said, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against 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 the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “The US isn't a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”
The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become an investor in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have made some investors concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
