As Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, steps onto the stage in New York, she's not just thinking about which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly content in which I directly criticize the government … I think it's a habit from China.”
The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s library system.
However in the year since the president returned to office for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, while here I'm standing on shifting sands.”
Her fears mirror an emerging climate in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in China, find eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with China may help the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to events in China decades past.”
Since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, many in China see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.
However after the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the US, which variously also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The deepest similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in the US for several years, after escaping the country due to pressure from officials.
Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.
Deng’s backlash came from online peers, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with China.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and monitoring open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in the East now as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “America is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, appear declining.”
The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the line between government and business is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government announced it would become an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to national security. These moves have left some investors concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved news. US courts have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, something that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain freer, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
