“Principal contradiction” is a Chinese way of expressing the most significant or pressing issue that needs to be addressed in a specific period of time. In 1981, at the 6th Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee, China arrived at a critical conclusion: China is at and, for a long time, will be in the primary stage of socialism where the principal contradiction lies between the people's ever-growing cultural and material needs and the country's still-backward social production.

It was a time when people were still worrying about the basic subsistence of life, especially having sufficient food. Recently, as Chinese people have become richer, they have naturally begun to seek a higher quality life. In 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that in the new era, the principal contradiction now lies between an unbalanced and inadequate development and the people's ever-growing needs for a better life.

Going forward, as China deepens reform, what does the new principal contradiction mean to policy makers? Robert Lawrence Kuhn spoke with Li Junru, vice-principal of the Party School of the Central Committee of CPC, the highest educational institution for CPC officials, from 2000 - 2009.

According to Li Junru, China has identified four main tasks for future development under the guidance of the new principal contradiction. First, China must address the problem of imbalanced development. Second, China must tackle the problem of inadequate development, especially, insufficient development across poverty-stricken areas and across society. And it should be consistent with the country's ecological civilization drive.

Third, supply-side structural reform is urgently needed in order to meet society's higher material and cultural needs. Fourth, China must strive to meet people's demands for more democracy, adherence to the rule of law, fairness, justice, environmental protection and public safety. Li hails the proposition of the new principal contradiction: “It's very important to have a clear grasp of China's social condition. It shows what tasks President Xi Jinping is up to, what tasks the CPC is up to, and what Chinese society wants to achieve."