When Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she is not just considering which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material in which I openly disparage the government … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.
But in the year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging political reality in America which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”
Since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent the same levels of violence.
But since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in America since 2019, having fled the country due to pressure from officials.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with China.
“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in the East today as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “The US isn't a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with the East, where the line between state and business is often blurred.
Recently, the US government stated it would become an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “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 a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
