When Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not only considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I'd never publish openly material where I openly disparage authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
However in the year after Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her concerns mirror a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, though absent the same levels of force.
But after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in America for several years, after escaping the country because of pressure from officials.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on came from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with China.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and monitoring open discourse about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East now as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government announced it would become an investor in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have left some investors concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on approved information. US courts have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
