When Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only considering what humor to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share content where I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
But over the past year since the president was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with China could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”
Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without the same levels of violence.
However since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in America since 2019, after escaping China due to harassment from officials.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
His backlash originated from online peers, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with China.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in China now as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, in part because public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “The US isn't a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by America, appear in decline.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the line between state and business is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for national security. These moves have made some investors concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, 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 blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain freer, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges 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, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
