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The Four Comprehensives, fully as the Four-pronged Comprehensive Strategy^[1] (四个全面战略布局), is a list of political goals for China, put forward by Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2014. They are:^[2]

Comprehensively build a moderately prosperous society^[a] → Comprehensively build a modern socialist country^[b]
Comprehensively deepen reform^[c]
Comprehensively govern the nation according to law^[d]
Comprehensively strictly govern the Party.^[e]

Background

Some scholars argue that there are the same or very similar statements of the "four comprehensives" in Deng Xiaoping Theory.^[3]

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".^[4]

In 1997, the term "building a moderately prosperous society" was officially adopted in General Secretary Jiang Zemin's report to the 15th CCP National Congress.^[5]^: 24

In 2002, the term was changed to "comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society" in the report to the 16th CCP National Congress.^[6]

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.^[5]^: 24

Timeline

Xi describes the Four Comprehensives as the communist party's overall guidance strategy and long-term development strategy.^[5]^: 23 The Four Comprehensives have been developed incrementally during the early years of Xi's tenure:^[7]

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^{[broken anchor]}
late October 2014: "Comprehensively govern the nation according to law" put forward during the 4th Central Committee Plenum
November 2014: "Three Comprehensives" (absent the Party governance clause) 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

Reactions

The “Four Comprehensives” were met with mixed reactions among citizens in China. Many voices associated with the Communist Party praised Xi's new vision for China, some calling the “Four Comprehensives” “profound strategic thinking” and a “visionary guide for China's future”. The ambiguity of the goals laid out by Xi allows him and other ranking party officials to act under some level of secrecy. While Chinese citizens may not be aware of specific policies being passed, they may be supportive of Xi's goals for China, regardless of whether the policies being passed align with these goals or not. Some of the disdain for Xi's “Four Comprehensives” may also spawn from the ambiguity in the goals. Some citizens were concerned with the actions the party would take to achieve these goals because this was never really made clear.^[8]