When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly attacking the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share content in which I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring New York’s library system.
However over the past year since the president returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her fears reflect an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, find eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, though without the same levels of violence.
However since the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in the US since 2019, having fled China because of harassment from officials.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with the East.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China now as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. However, “The US isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, 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 … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.
Recently, authorities stated it would become an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have made some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
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 approved news. US courts have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “America might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain freer, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”
Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
