When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material where I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
However over the past year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her concerns reflect an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, find eerily familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”
Ever since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, many in China see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.
However since the turmoil of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which variously also feels familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, now a CCP critic, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in the US for several years, having fled the country due to pressure from officials.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with China.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and monitoring open discourse about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in China now as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities stated it would become an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that America is entering a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved information. US courts have blocked or overturned numerous presidential measures, something that is impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain freer, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
