As Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she is not only thinking about which jokes to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she ensures it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly content where I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”
The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for nearly ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.
But over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people with experience in China, find disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has not been shy about his admiration 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 recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit absent the same levels of violence.
But since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in the US for several years, having fled China due to harassment from officials.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who were fired for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China now as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “The US isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The government's purchase of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
On Monday, authorities stated it will take an investor in a startup focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms it considers vital to national security. These moves have made some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, something that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into its gravest challenge 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 observes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
