When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she's not just thinking about which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publish openly content in which I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
But over the past year since the president was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, while in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her fears mirror a new climate in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, find eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or undermine the elite … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, though absent the same levels of violence.
However since the turmoil of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the US, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, now a CCP critic, ended up in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in America for several years, having fled the country due to harassment from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.
His pile on originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China today as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, in part because public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. But now, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take an investor in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in additional firms it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on approved news. US courts have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
