When Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, steps onto the stage in New York, she's not only thinking about what humor to deliver. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I'd never publicly share material in which I directly criticize the government … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
However over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her concerns mirror a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with the East may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”
Since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though without the same levels of violence.
But since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US for several years, after escaping the country because of pressure from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who were fired for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
His pile on came from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with China.
“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in the East now as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in the country is risky. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”
The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that while many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
