When Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only considering which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly material in which I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a habit from China.”
Wang, 39, resided 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 an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's public library.
But in the year after the president was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns mirror a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”
Since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent the same levels of force.
But after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in America for several years, after escaping the country because of pressure from officials.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.
“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.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with China.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in China today as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “The US is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between government and private industry is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have left some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved news. US courts have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
