As Vickie Wang, a rising performer, takes the stage in New York, she is not only thinking about which jokes to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publish openly material in which I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”
Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in 2022. By 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.
However over the past year since the president was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Her concerns reflect an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.
Trump has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with China may help the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”
Since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to America, albeit absent the same levels of violence.
However after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on open expression.
Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He resided in America for several years, having fled China due to pressure from officials.
Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in the United States – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.
“In terms of going after dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in the East now as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “The US isn't some kind of god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities announced it would become an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad
