As Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she's not only thinking about what humor to tell. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly content in which I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a habit from China.”
Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and delving into the city's public library.
But over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to events in China half a century ago.”
Since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent the same levels of force.
But since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng has lived in the US since 2019, having fled China because of harassment from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with China.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China now as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for political inspiration, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “America is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”
The government's purchase of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for national security. These moves have left some investors 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 the East. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
