When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only thinking about what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publicly share content in which I openly disparage the government … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.
But in the year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her fears reflect an emerging climate in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if America is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“America is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”
Ever since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without the same levels of violence.
However after the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He has lived in the US since 2019, after escaping the country because of pressure from officials.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears parallels with China.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and monitoring public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in China today as too,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, the US government announced it would become an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for national security. These moves have made some investors concerned that America is entering 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, 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 reversed many of presidential measures, something that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor notes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
