As Vickie Wang, a rising performer, takes the stage in New York, she's not only considering what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly content in which I openly disparage the government … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”
Wang, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.
But over the past year after the president was elected again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her fears reflect a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with China may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in China decades past.”
Ever since Trump initiated 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. Be it the mobilisation of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without the same levels of violence.
However since the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’
The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in America since 2019, after escaping the country due to harassment from the authorities.
In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash originated from online peers, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with China.
“Regarding going after those who disagree and monitoring open discourse about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in the East today as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “America is no longer some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”
“We once viewed the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”
The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between government and private industry is often blurred.
Recently, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in additional firms it considers essential for national security. These moves have left some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
The professor notes that although numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university once vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
