The Four Cardinal Principles were one of the Two Basic Points implemented by Deng Xiaoping, the other of which was Reform and Opening. The principles include:

Such principles marked a relaxation of control over ideology. In stating the four cardinal principles, an implication was that these four topics could not be questioned, but political ideas other than those in the list could be debated. Moreover, while the principles themselves are not subject to debate, the interpretations of those principles are. For example, there has been extensive debate over the meaning of socialism.

On the other hand, the principles were proclaimed as a sign of adherence to the communist ideology, thus paving the secure way to re-evaluation of the Cultural Revolution while preserving ideological stability and legitimacy of the CCP as a response to the Democracy Wall movement. The Four Cardinal Principles were enshrined in China's Constitution in 1982.