Four Comprehensives
The Four Comprehensives, fully as the Four-pronged Comprehensive Strategy, are four political goals put forward by Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in 2014. They are:
- Comprehensively build a moderately prosperous society → Comprehensively build a modern socialist country
- Comprehensively deepen reform
- Comprehensively govern the nation according to law
- Comprehensively strict discipline of the Party of China|Party].
Background
Some scholars argue that there are the same or very similar statements of the "four comprehensives" in Deng Xiaoping Theory.The term "moderately prosperous society" dated back to 1979, when Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping said to visiting Japanese Prime Minister Masayoshi Ōhira that "Xiaokang society was the goal of Chinese modernization".
In 1997, the term "building a moderately prosperous society" was officially adopted in General Secretary Jiang Zemin's report to the 15th [National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party|15th CCP National Congress].
In 2002, the term was changed to "comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society" in the report to the 16th CCP National Congress.
In 2012, "Completing the Building of a Moderately Prosperous Society in All Respects" was first introduced in Hu Jintao's report to the 18th CCP National Congress.
Timeline
Xi describes the Four Comprehensives as the communist party's overall guidance strategy and long-term development strategy. The Four Comprehensives have been developed incrementally during the early years of Xi's tenure:- November 2012: "Comprehensively build a moderately prosperous society" put forward at the 18th Party Congress
- November 2013: "Comprehensively deepen reform" put forward at the 3rd Central Committee Plenum
- early October 2014: "Comprehensively strictly govern the Party" put forward at the summary meeting of the Mass Line Campaign
- late October 2014: "Comprehensively govern the nation according to law" put forward during the 4th Central Committee Plenum
- November 2014: "Three Comprehensives" formulated as a strategic bundle during Xi's tour of Fujian Province
- December 2014: "Three Comprehensives" amended to "Four Comprehensives" during Xi's tour of Jiangsu Province
- February 2015: Four Comprehensives unveiled as official Party and national strategy in advance of the Lianghui, the annual sessions of China's National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference