As Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it's not recorded for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material in which I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a habit from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” going to lectures, protests, and exploring New York’s library system.
However in the year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her concerns reflect an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in China, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described him as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to events in China decades past.”
Ever since the administration unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, albeit absent equivalent degrees of force.
However since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng has lived in America since 2019, after escaping China because of pressure from officials.
In September, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring also has parallels with China.
“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in the East today as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to the US for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. However, “The US is no longer some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for national security. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on US-China issues declined to speak for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
