Xi Jinping said Wednesday that the principal contradiction facing Chinese society has evolved, as socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era.

Xi made the remarks in a report to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China at the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing.

"What we now face is the contradiction between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people's ever-growing needs for a better life," he said.

The evolution of the principal contradiction represents a "historic shift that affects the whole landscape and that creates many new demands for the work of the Party and the country," Xi said.

Previously the principal contradiction was described as one between "the ever-growing material and cultural needs of the people and backward social production."