When Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about which jokes to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I'd never publish openly content where I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.
However in the year since the president returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her fears reflect an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, find disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with China may help the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears that the US is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to events in China half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without the same levels of violence.
However since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in China. He resided in the US since 2019, having fled the country due to pressure from officials.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash came from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with China.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in China today as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “America is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities stated it would become an investor in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to national security. These moves have left some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
