BEIJING - 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."

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, he said.

The needs to be met for the people to live a better life 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, he said.

"While China's overall productive forces have significantly improved and in many areas our production capacity leads the world, our problem is that our development is unbalanced and inadequate," he said.

"This has become the main constraining factor in meeting the people's increasing needs for a better life," Xi said.