As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she's not just thinking about what humor to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the administration,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I'd never publish openly content where I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to lectures, protests, and exploring the city's library system.
However in the year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, 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 reflect an emerging political reality in America which many Chinese, or those with experience in China, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Institutions are attacked.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”
Ever since the administration unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China see American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent the same levels of force.
But after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the US, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, 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 the US for several years, after escaping the country because of harassment from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
His pile on originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with China.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China today as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have left some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved news. US courts have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that is impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be freer, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
