The Third Session of China's 12th National People's Congress (NPC) opens at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 5, 2015.

 

Scholars have hailed the “Four Comprehensives” for crystallizing the “Chinese Dream” of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. They made the comments about President Xi Jinping’s political blueprint on the sidelines of the 12th National People’s Congress (NPC) and 12th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), also known as the “two sessions.”

The Four Comprehensives are tasks raised at Communist Party of China (CPC) meetings over the last two years since Xi took office. The concept was first mentioned by Xi in December 2014.

Xu Yaotong, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance, said that the Four Comprehensives is a result of long-term planning by the CPC. Relating the Four Comprehensives to the Chinese Dream, another concept raised by Xi, Xu said the Four Comprehensives specifies the Chinese Dream with each “comprehensive” representing a strategic layout.

The Four Comprehensives has made clear the key links, important fields and major directions of all work of the Party and the state. It was proposed at the right time and to the point, so that the Chinese people can better unite to strive for the Chinese Dream, Xu added.
 

Wang Yuan, a CPPCC member and professor from Xi’an Jiaotong University, echoed Xu’s view, saying that the Four Comprehensives clarifies targets set in the Chinese Dream.
 

Featuring a more rigorous logic, the strategic concept also indicates that the overall governance framework of the new leadership has become more complete and mature, Wang said. 
 

Moreover, the Four Comprehensives grasps the key to reform, development  and stability in the new period.Aligning with the needs of the times, it is critical to adhering to and developing the socialist path, theories and systems with Chinese characteristics, he said.
 

Yan Xiaofeng, former director of the Institute of Marxism at the People’s Liberation Army National Defense University, said that the Four Comprehensives will serve to resolve major contradictions in the undertakings of the Party and the state.

The building of a moderately prosperous society will rectify imbalanced development; deepening reform will solve deep-rooted problems, especially fixed interests; advancing the rule of law will make different governance modes compatible; and strengthening Party discipline will rein in corruption.

Full implementation of the Four Comprehensives will remove obstacles hampering national rejuvenation, said Yan.
 

As part of the Four Comprehensives, deepening reform swept across China in 2014. Reform plans were released in an unprecedented number during the year.

According to the summary of the Meeting of the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reform convened on Dec. 30, 2014, 80 key reform tasks identified for 2014 had been basically finished in addition to the completion of 108 missions assigned to various central departments and the release of 370 reform measures.

In 2014, reform touched upon a wide array of areas closely related to the life of the common people, bringing encouraging changes to the country, society and people’s life.
 

From the perspective of Cao Heping, a professor from the School of Economics at Peking University, topics discussed during the two sessions are concerned with no more than four fields, all of which call for broader, deeper and more effective reform.
 

The first field is about China’s economic development and the world pattern. The proposal of the “One Belt and One Road” initiative, or Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, has exemplified China’s global lens in its development.
 

Secondly, how domestic economic restructuring will guide the “new normal” is also a major issue. The third is related to the public services environment necessary for economic development and social transformation, which involves reform on administration and legal systems. The fourth area encompasses resource-related and environmental problems, such as control of air pollution and utilization of water, land and mineral resources.
 

In 2015, the deepening of various reforms will continue to drive economic development under the new normal.