Principal contradiction facing Chinese society in a new era
As socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, the Chinese people are leading a better life, their demands become higher and their dissatisfactions increasing. This is because the principal contradiction facing Chinese society has evolved. What we now face is the contradiction between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people's ever-growing needs for a better life. China has seen the basic needs of over a billion people met, has basically made it possible for people to live decent lives, and will soon bring the building of a moderately prosperous society to a successful completion. The needs to be met for the people to live better lives are increasingly broad. Not only have their material and cultural needs grown, their demands for democracy, rule of law, fairness and justice, security, and a better environment are increasing. At the same time, China's overall productive forces have significantly improved and in many areas our production capacity leads the world. The more prominent problem is that our development is unbalanced and inadequate. This has become the main constraining factor in meeting the people's increasing needs for a better life.
We must recognize that the evolution of the principal contradiction facing Chinese society represents a historic shift that affects the whole landscape and that creates many new demands for the work of the Party and the country. Building on continued efforts to sustain development, we must devote great energy to addressing development's imbalances and inadequacies, and push hard to improve the quality and effect of development. With this, we will be better placed to meet the ever-growing economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological needs of our people, and to promote well-rounded human development and all-round social progress.
We must recognize that the evolution of the principal contradiction facing Chinese society does not change our assessment of the present stage of socialism in China. The basic dimension of the Chinese context – that our country is still and will long remain in the primary stage of socialism – has not changed. China's international status as the world's largest developing country has not changed. The whole Party must be completely clear about this fundamental dimension of our national context, and must base our work on this most important reality – the primary stage of socialism. We must remain fully committed to the Party's basic line as the source that keeps the Party and the country going and that brings happiness to the people. We must lead and unite the Chinese people of all ethnic groups in fulfilling the central task of economic development. We must uphold the Four Cardinal Principles, continue to reform and open up, be self-reliant, hardworking, and enterprising, and strive to build China into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful.
新时代中国社会主要矛盾
中国特色社会主义进入新时代，大家普遍感到生活好了，情况变了，要求高了，不满多了。归根结底是社会主要矛盾变了，转化为“人民日益增长的美好生活需要和不平衡不充分的发展之间的矛盾”了。中国稳定解决了十几亿人的温饱问题，总体上实现小康，不久将全面建成小康社会，人民美好生活需求日益广泛，不仅对物质文化生活提出了更高要求，而且在民主、法治、公平、正义、安全、环境等方面的要求也日益增长。同时，中国社会生产力水平总体上显著提高，社会生产能力在很多方面进入世界前列，发展不平衡不充分的问题更加突出，这已经成为满足人民日益增长的美好生活需要的主要制约因素。
中国社会主要矛盾的变化是关系全局的历史性变化，对党和国家工作提出了许多新要求。特别是要在继续推动发展的基础上，着力解决好发展不平衡不充分问题，大力提升发展质量和效益，更好满足人民在经济、政治、文化、社会、生态等方面日益增长的需要，更好推动人的全面发展、社会全面进步。
中国社会主要矛盾的变化，没有改变中国共产党对中国社会主义所处历史阶段的判断，中国仍处于并将长期处于社会主义初级阶段的基本国情没有变，中国是世界最大发展中国家的国际地位没有变。中国共产党要牢牢把握社会主义初级阶段这个基本国情，牢牢立足社会主义初级阶段这个最大实际，牢牢坚持党的基本路线这个党和国家的生命线、人民的幸福线，领导和团结全国各族人民，以经济建设为中心，坚持四项基本原则，坚持改革开放，自力更生，艰苦创业，为把中国建设成为富强民主文明和谐美丽的社会主义现代化强国而奋斗。