As Vickie Wang, a rising performer, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she's not only considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the administration,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it's not recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content in which I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.
But over the past year after Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears reflect an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that closer ties with China may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Since Trump unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it 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, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously also feels familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng resided in the US for several years, after escaping China due to pressure from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash came from online peers, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with China.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East today as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. However, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has also drawn parallels with the East, where the line between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities stated it will take an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have made some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
