As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not only considering what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers 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 would never publish openly content in which I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
Wang, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and delving into the city's library system.
However over the past year after the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her concerns reflect a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in China, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that closer ties with China may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to events in China half a century ago.”
Since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without the same levels of violence.
However since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng resided in America for several years, having fled the country because of harassment from officials.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – who were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with the East.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East today as too,” she said, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. However, “America isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, appear in decline.”
The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.
Recently, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to national security. These moves have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, an action that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
