As Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publicly share material in which I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.
However in the year after the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her concerns reflect an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that closer ties with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“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 attempting to rally the masses to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without equivalent degrees of force.
However since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in China. He resided in America for several years, after escaping China due to pressure from the authorities.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in the United States – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with China.
“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in the East today as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.
Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him 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 some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.
Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between government and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for national security. These moves have left 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. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned numerous presidential measures, an action that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “America might face the worst crisis 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.”
Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the state, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
