As Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she's not just thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material where I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.
But in the year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s fears reflect an emerging climate in the US which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
The president has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with the East could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that America is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”
Since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit 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 country, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in America for several years, having fled China due to pressure from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
His pile on originated from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with China.
“Regarding going after dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East today as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance promoted by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “The US isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities stated it would become an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised news. US courts have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
