This comparison could turn out to be complete nonsense but, the more I've found out about Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, the more connections I've personally made between to this heir to the Saudi throne and his country on the one hand, and on the other Deng Xiaoping and the impact he had on the People's Republic of China in the 1980s.
Mohammad bin Salman has increasingly been in the media spotlight in the Western world over the past year or so as the power behind the throne of his father, King Salman of Saudi Arabia, who himself only became King in recent years. The Crown Prince, known informally as MBS, is credited with spurring Saudi decision-makers to look beyond oil as soon as possible to provide alternative sources for the Saudi economy, as well as encouraging greater social liberalism in the notoriously conservative kingdom- notable for its historic limitations on women's participation in society, for example. MBS is considered the driver behind a headline-grabbing move to arrest high-profile figures linked with corruption in his country, as well as allowing women to drive.
Deemed most dramatic are the changes brought about by MBS to make Saudi society more liberal and equal than it has been in recent decades (relatively). There is speculation that, as Crown Prince now, and one day as King (his father is now 82), he will make drastic and lasting social changes to Saudi Arabia. If this turns out to be the case, MBS could have the same impact on Saudi Arabia socially as Deng Xiaoping had on China economically in the 1980s. To recap, when Xiaoping took over as China's leader in 1979, his country was a Great Power; albeit one with a shaky, socialist economy, which had been developed since the communists achieved power in 1949, largely guided by Mao Zedong. Whilst Chairman Mao had upheld political power for the communist party and safeguarded his country's territorial integrity, Xiaoping's rule is noted for the revolutionary steps to reform China's economy into a more capitalist one (or state capitalist, given the large role the state would continue to play in the economy), in an approach he would famously describe as "socialist with Chinese characteristics".
Xiaoping's reforms brought tremendous economic growth to China, and a larger role for his country in the global economy- not to mention significant opportunities for a major boost in living standards for those Chinese able to reap the benefits of these economic changes. Thus Xiaoping has secured a positive reputation for his effectiveness at opening up China's economy- and many hope that MBS will similarly earn a positive reputation for opening up Saudi society. However, there are two sides to Xiaoping's legacy, which appears likely to be the case for MBS too.Xiaoping liberalised China's economy, and there were predictions that liberalisation of his country's political system was bound to follow. China's economy was increasingly inspired by the West, and its politics was bound to be too; after all, the Soviet Union at the time seemed to be reforming both its politics and economy under its contemporary leader, Mikhail Gorbachev. Predictions of more liberal government and politics in China, and a weakening of its communists' grip on power, were brought abruptly to a halt by the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, when Xiaoping oversaw tanks enter the Square in the Chinese capital, Beijing, to mercilessly suppress protests calling for political reforms. The government's response to the protest demonstrated to the world that China's economy was loosening- but the communists' political control wasn't.
In Saudi Arabia, MBS is said to have encouraged his country's aggressive and controversial role in Yemen's civil war, and is seen to be just as intolerant (or perhaps more intolerant) of political opposition and activists as other members of the kingdom's royal family in recent decades. He may be making Saudi Arabia more socially liberal, as Xiaoping made China more economically liberal; but I anticipate that MBS is just as unlikely to dilute the political power of the reigning House of Saud in his country as Xiaoping did for the communist party in China. I expect Mohammad bin Salman to therefore be more like Saudi Arabia's Deng Xiaoping than its Mikhail Gorbachev.
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