An All-Round Comprehension of the ‘Four Comprehensives’

Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward the strategic layout of the “Four Comprehensives”—comprehensively establishing a moderately prosperous society， deepening reform， advancing the rule of law and strictly governing the Communist Party of China （CPC）—during an inspection tour in east Chinas Jiangsu Province last December. Since then， Xi has reiterated the theory on a number of occasions.

When delivering the Report on the Government Work to lawmakers at the opening of the Third Session of the 12th National Peoples Congress（NPC）， Chinas top legislature， on March 5， Chinese Premier Li Keqiang also emphasized the “Four Comprehensives” and put forward an array of measures to achieve the goals.

Beijing Review reporters Deng Yaqing， Zheng Yang， Lan Xinzhen， Xu Bei and Cui Xiaoqin spoke to NPC deputies and members of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference（CPPCC）—Chinas top political advisory body—to hear their perspectives on the broad governance blueprint. Edited Excerpts follow：

Shi Zhihong， CPPCC National Committee member， former Deputy Director of the Policy Research Office of the CPC Central Committee

Comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society is the grand goal China vows to realize by 2020. The“Four Comprehensives” was brought forward in late 2014， a critical moment for China as it has less than six years to deliver the goal.

The strategic deployment of the “Four Comprehensives” consists of a strategic objective and three strategic measures. In order to realize the goal of establishing a moderately prosperous society in China by 2020， the measures—comprehensively deepening reform， comprehensively implementing the rule of law and comprehensively strengthening Party discipline—are all indispensable.

Without comprehensively deepening reform， Chinas development would lack momentum， and Chinese society would have no vitality； without comprehensively advancing the rule of law， the nation couldnt function in an orderly manner； without comprehensively strengthening Party discipline， the governance of the CPC could hardly operate at full capacity.

Wang Xuecheng， CPPCC National Committee member， Director of the Legislative Affairs Office of the Guangdong Provincial Government

In the “Four Comprehensives” strategic layout， comprehensively establishing a moderately prosperous society is the grand goal， while comprehensively deepening reform is the means to realizing this goal. Comprehensively advancing the rule of law and strictly governing the CPC are fundamental guarantees. In China， to realize the former three requires the leadership of the CPC. Only by strictly governing the CPC and improving its governance capability can the former three targets be realized.

In China， the key to advancing the rule of law lies in a law-based government administration. Only when the government conducts administration in accordance with the law can the authority of the Constitution and other legislation be established， and everyone in society will follow suit. A law-based society will eventually be founded on a law-based government.

Hou Liang， NPC deputy， Mayor of Zhangjiakou， Hebei Province

Advancing the rule of law will rely heavily on the disciplining of government leaders and officials.

Endeavors should be made to ensure that government leaders will never do what is not authorized by law. They need to have a good knowledge of the relationship between power and the law， and make clear the bounds of their power. To this end， the power list system needs to be promoted， and related responsibilities be made clear.

Meanwhile， the power of leadership should be contained and transparent. Leaders should exercise their power in accordance with substantial and procedural laws. If not， the use of power will go off track. In some areas， equality and fairness are still impeded by nepotism， which has undermined the credibility of the government. For one thing， the use of power should be restricted by a system of procedures and rules； for another， the subject， condition， process and mode of wielding power should warrant attention.

Supervision should also be intensified to prevent the power of leadership from being abused. Now， both the Central Government and provincial governments have launched inspection tours to make sure that government leaders can use power in line with laws and regulations. I recommend the Central Government to expand the scope and increase the frequency of inspection.

Liu Jixian， CPPCC National Committee member， former Vice President of the Academy of Military Science of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army

Disciplining leaders and cadres is the key to strictly governing the CPC. Stricter management and supervision toward them should be implemented in terms of their work and life.

Party members should be educated on how to more properly use their power and how to administrate based on the rule of law. At work， their power should be restrained and supervised. Each level of leaders should be specifically informed of what they can do， what they cant do and how they should do their jobs. In life， leaders at all levels should be required to maintain a high moral standard so as to be a role model for society.

Wang Junjin， NPC deputy， President of JuneYao Group

Chinas economic growth has entered a“new normal” and we should insist on deepening reform to promote sound development. A focus should be laid on accelerating the transformation of economic development model， promoting the mixed ownership economy， propelling state-owned enterprise （SOE） reforms， and providing more investment opportunities for private capital.

People need to know that the mixed-ownership reform will do a good job of invigorating the state-owned economy. Both state and private capital can create value for and make contributions to society.

Authorities should make plain the roadmap， methods and measures to promote the mixedownership economy. Over the course， efforts should be made to promulgate the responsibility system， set up the accountability system and ensure the consistency of policies.

SOEs should focus on their core business and cut down on subsidiary businesses that lie outside of their specialties， in order to elevate operational efficiency. They should go further in absorbing private capital， because new growth points will be found when combining the vitality of private enterprises with their resources.

Fan Xiaojian， CPPCC National Committee member， former Deputy Director of the Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development with the State Council

China has only six years left to deliver its goal of establishing a moderately prosperous society by 2020. The realization of the goal is to a large extent dependent on how poverty relief is implemented in China.

Economic slowdown， combined with a large disparity in resident income， has added more difficulty to poverty relief. The Gini coefficient—a barometer of income disparity—for China increased to 0.47 in 2013 from 0.37 in 1994. Worse still， a slowdown in fiscal revenue has decreased the investment in poverty relief over the past two years. Growth in the poverty relief fund stood at 41 percent in 2011， it slowed to 32 percent in 2012 and further slipped to 24 percent in 2013. Therefore， under the economic “new normal，” we should have a new plan for poverty relief.

China should take the lowering of the Gini coefficient and the narrowing of income gaps seriously. Poverty relief should be part of Chinas 13th Five-Year Plan （2016-20） to increase government support for the cause.

More funds should be earmarked for poverty relief， especially for providing public services such as infrastructure construction， education and medical care in poverty-stricken areas. Industrial transfer from coastal regions to inland cities should be seen as a good opportunity to develop local economies. Support for small and medium-sized enterprises in central and western regions should continuously be increased. Arrangements should be made for recipients of subsistence allowances， including their pensions. The priority should be given to the most urgent needs of the poorest strands of the population in the most poverty-stricken areas.

Feng Leping， NPC deputy， President of Beijing Federation of FarmersCooperatives

The “Four Comprehensives” represent top-level design and strategic objectives for the country， which is widely anticipated by more than 6，000 members of the Beijing Federation of Farmers Cooperatives.

On February 1， the CPC Central Committee and the State Council jointly released their first policy document for 2015， informally known as the “No.1 Document.” Modern farming and rural reform are high on the agenda. Since 2004， issues concerning agriculture， rural areas and farmers have been the focus of central authorities No.1 documents for 12 years in a row.

As a representative from the farming community， I think Chinas agricultural reform is heading toward agricultural modernization and transformation of the countrys agricultural development model.

Reform in the agricultural sector should be more than just a structural change. It should be more of a change in the production and distribution model. Farmers that know nothing but plowing in the land can hardly take on this task. Therefore， the training of professional farmers should be strengthened， because they will be the main force of the agricultural sector in the future.

Mei Xingbao， CPPCC National Committee member， external supervisor at the Bank of China

The key to “comprehensively establishing a moderately prosperous society” lies in the broad coverage of the plan. Therefore， some industries should be allowed to gradually transfer from central and eastern regions to the western region. Also， a disparity between the growth rate in central and eastern regions and western region should be allowed.

The growth in the western region is slower than that in central and eastern regions， and western rural areas grow more slowly than urban areas. Accelerating the growth of the western region is a key issue. The western regions industrial layout should be adjusted to receive industrial transfer from central and eastern regions. In addition， the region can use the Silk Road Economic Belt initiative as an opportunity to realize the full capacity for development. Only when the western region prospers can the general goal be achieved.

Different growth rates should be tolerated when it comes to different regions： The eastern region should be allowed to grow at a rate lower than 7 percent while the western region should be allowed to develop more quickly.

Peng Xiaofeng， CPPCC National Committee member， Deputy Director of the Economic Committee of the 12th CPPCC National Committee

Establishing a moderately prosperous society requires the backup of steady economic growth. Last year， the Chinese economy grew 7.4 percent， a hard-won result as the country ruled out the possibility of rolling out massive stimulus package， improved the structure of industries， increased employment， maintained the CPI at a relatively low level and pushed forward reforms in an orderly manner.

Amid mounting downward pressure， the government work report lowered the growth target at around 7 percent. Although China has more toleration for slower growth， the country still needs to realize steady growth， which requires the market to play a key role in allocating resources. Steady growth will help facilitate the implementation of the“Four Comprehensives.”