When Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she's not only considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content where I directly criticize the government … I believe it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.
But over the past year after the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s fears reflect a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears that the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine the elite … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”
Since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, though without equivalent degrees of force.
However since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the US, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.
A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in America for several years, after escaping China due to harassment from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who were fired for making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with China.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in the East today as too,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to the US for political inspiration, in part because public debate on internal affairs in the country is dangerous. However, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's purchase of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities announced it would become an investor in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers vital to national security. The deals have left some investors concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
