Four Cardinal Principles

The Four Cardinal Principles (Chinese: 四项基本原则; pinyin: Sì-xiàng Jīběn Yuánzé) were stated by Deng Xiaoping in March 1979 at a conference of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), during the early phase of the Reform and Opening-up period, and are the four issues for which debate was not allowed within the People's Republic of China. The Four Cardinal Principles were one of Deng's Two Basic Points, the other of which was the Chinese economic reform.