When Vickie Wang, a rising performer, takes the stage in New York, she's not only thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it's not recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content where I openly disparage authorities … I believe it's a habit from China.”
Wang, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.
However over the past year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people with experience in China, perceive as eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with China may help the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though without the same levels of violence.
But since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which variously also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in America for several years, after escaping the country because of pressure from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring bears parallels with China.
“In terms of going after dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China today as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. But now, “America is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain freer, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
