As Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material in which I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, lived 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,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's public library.
However in the year since the president was elected again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her fears mirror an emerging climate in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it seems that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to marginalize or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without the same levels of violence.
But after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The most profound similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, turned CCP critic, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng has lived in the US for several years, having fled China because of harassment from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with China.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China today as too,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “America isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by America, appear in decline.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in additional firms it considers essential for national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.
An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain freer, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues declined to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad
