As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not just thinking about what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly content where I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.
However over the past year after the president returned to office for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging political reality in America which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent the same levels of violence.
But since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he once faced in China. He has lived in America since 2019, having fled the country because of pressure from officials.
In September, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with the East.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in the East today as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, appear in decline.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities stated it would become an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms it considers essential for national security. The deals have made some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, an action that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college once vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
