Lu Jun: General Secretary Xi Jinping's View of Contradiction
◇ Grasping the primary contradiction to drive overall work is an inherent requirement of dialectical materialism and is also the methodology consistently advocated and upheld by our Party. ◇ Looking back at the century-long history of the Party, the conscious application of the Marxist view of contradiction to discover, analyze, and solve problems has served both as the breakthrough point for our Party to continuously resolve difficulties, defuse crises, and move toward victory, and as the growth point for theoretical innovation. ◇ In the practice of governance, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasizes a holistic perspective—planning the overall situation through coordination and comprehensive policy implementation—while also focusing on prioritizing the resolution of primary contradictions and the primary aspects of contradictions. By achieving breakthroughs in important areas and key links, he drives the overall situation forward, steering the great ship of China through wind and waves toward steady and sustained progress.
In the report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must be adept at viewing reality through the lens of history, perceiving essence through phenomena, and correctly handling the relationships between the whole and the part, the long-term and the short-term, the macro and the micro, the primary and secondary contradictions, and the special and the general. We must continuously improve our capacity for strategic, historical, dialectical, systematic, innovative, rule-of-law, and bottom-line thinking, providing scientific ideological methods for forward-looking thinking, overall planning, and the holistic advancement of the undertakings of the Party and the state."
Grasping the primary contradiction to drive overall work is an inherent requirement of dialectical materialism and is also the methodology consistently advocated and upheld by our Party.
General Secretary Xi Jinping noted: "Human cognitive and practical activities are, fundamentally speaking, a continuous process of recognizing and resolving contradictions."
As an essential component of Marxism, dialectical materialism is the worldview and methodology of Chinese Communists. As a constituent part of dialectical materialism, the core of dialectical materialism is the Marxist view of contradiction.
By studying and understanding the profound connotation of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s view of contradiction across the three dimensions of historical logic, theoretical logic, and practical logic—and by truly mastering, comprehending, and utilizing Marxism, this "housekeeping skill" [1]—we will be provided with a powerful ideological weapon to actively face and resolve the contradictions, problems, risks, and challenges encountered on the road ahead.
Historical Logic: Always for the Purpose of Solving China’s Practical Problems
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Our Party has led the people in revolution, construction, and reform always for the purpose of solving China’s practical problems."
What are referred to here as "problems" are the contradictions within things. Contradictions exist universally; they constitute the substantive content of the connections between things and the fundamental driving force of their development. Problems are the voice of the times and the manifestation of contradictions. Throughout the century-long journey of the CPC, the conscious application of the Marxist view of contradiction to discover, analyze, and solve problems has served both as the breakthrough point for our Party to continuously resolve difficulties, defuse crises, and move toward victory, and as the growth point for theoretical innovation.
For over a hundred years, our Party has accurately grasped and seized the primary contradictions of Chinese society and the primary aspects of those contradictions in various periods. Guided by a problem-oriented approach, the Party has concentrated strength and resources to tackle tough challenges, made every effort to resolve contradictions, and overcome the difficulties and setbacks encountered on the journey, continuously opening new horizons for the development of our cause.
During the Period of the New Democratic Revolution [2], our Party profoundly recognized that the primary contradictions in modern Chinese society were those between imperialism and the Chinese nation, and between feudalism and the masses. To achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, it was necessary to carry out the struggle against imperialism and feudalism.
During the Period of Socialist Revolution and Construction [3], based on the situation following the basic completion of the socialist transformation of the ownership of the means of production, the 8th National Congress of the CPC proposed that the primary domestic contradiction was no longer between the working class and the bourgeoisie, but rather the contradiction between the people's need for rapid economic and cultural development and the country's inability to meet those needs. The main task for the people of the entire country was to concentrate efforts on developing the productive forces, achieving national industrialization, and gradually satisfying the people's growing material and cultural needs.
During the New Period of Reform, Opening-up, and Socialist Modernization [4], our Party clarified that the primary contradiction in our society was the contradiction between the people’s growing material and cultural needs and backward social production. Solving this primary contradiction became our central task, leading to the proposal of the goal to build a moderately prosperous society (小康社会, xiǎokāng shèhuì).
Entering the New Era of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has persisted in combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and fine traditional culture. By adhering to the application of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, they clarified that the primary contradiction in our society in the New Era is the contradiction between the people's ever-growing need for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development. This major political judgment accurately grasps the characteristics of the times and China’s new historical coordinates, reflects the objective reality of our social development, points out the fundamental focus for solving the main problems of contemporary Chinese development, and enriches the Marxist doctrine on social contradictions. Although the change in the primary contradiction of our society has not changed our judgment regarding the historical stage in which our socialism finds itself, it is a historic change that affects the entire situation. The CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has coordinated the overall strategy for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the world’s unprecedented changes in a century [5]. They have profoundly recognized the new characteristics and requirements brought by the change in the primary social contradiction, as well as the new contradictions and challenges brought by the complex international environment. On the basis of continuing to promote development, they have focused on resolving the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development, vigorously improving the quality and efficiency of development, better meeting the people's growing needs in economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological fields, and better promoting the well-rounded development of individuals and the comprehensive progress of society.
On January 11, 2022, at the opening ceremony of a study session for provincial and ministerial-level leading officials on implementing the spirit of the sixth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important speech pointing out that the Party's century of struggle tells us that whether the cause of the Party and the people can move forward in the right direction depends on whether we can accurately recognize and grasp the primary social contradiction and determine our central task. Whenever the judgment of the primary social contradiction and central task is accurate, the cause of the Party and the people develops smoothly; otherwise, it suffers setbacks.
Practice has fully proven that recognizing the primary social contradiction is the "key" to grasping the stage of social development. Every deepening of our Party’s understanding of the primary social contradiction during the process of exploring the laws of socialist construction has raised the level of our understanding of the primary stage of socialism, ensuring the scientificity and correctness of the Party’s line, principles, and policies. Persisting in proceeding from the actual conditions of our country, keenly seizing the primary contradiction amidst many social contradictions and the overall landscape of contradictions, and consciously deploying the overall work of the Party and the state around the primary contradiction—this is a successful experience of our Party in consciously applying the Marxist doctrine of contradiction to analyze and solve problems in China’s revolution, construction, and reform.
Theoretical Logic: Learning and Mastering the Basic Principles of the Movement of Contradictions in Things
Valuing philosophical thinking and being adept at using philosophical methods are distinct characteristics of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s practice of governance. At the conference marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx, General Secretary Xi Jinping educated and guided the broad masses of Party members and cadres to "adhere to and apply the Marxist views on practice, the masses, class, development, and contradiction, and truly master, comprehend, and utilize Marxism, this housekeeping skill."
On the "new road to take the exam" [6] toward achieving the Second Centenary Goal, and facing the contradictions and problems encountered on the road ahead, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that "studying and using philosophy is a fine tradition of our Party." He noted that "there are many skills to be mastered, but the most fundamental is theoretical attainment," and that we must "learn and master the basic principles of the movement of contradictions in things." Only in this way can we apply the Marxist stance, viewpoint, and method to continuously recognize and solve contradictions and unswervingly manage our own affairs well.
General Secretary Xi Jinping’s view of contradiction shines with the light of Marxist truth. It is rich in connotation, broad and profound, and contains the following three aspects of dialectical unity:
It profoundly encapsulates the dialectical unity of universality and particularity. The principle of the dialectical relationship between the universality and particularity of contradictions is the essence of the problem of contradiction. General Secretary Xi Jinping has profoundly grasped this essential meaning, pointing out: "Contradictions exist universally; they are the substantive content of the connections between things and the fundamental driving force of their development," thereby acknowledging the universality and objectivity of contradictions. He noted: "Problems are the manifestation of contradictions in things," requiring the whole Party to "strengthen problem awareness, persist in a problem-oriented approach," and be "adept at treating the recognition and resolution of contradictions as a breakthrough point to open up new horizons in work." Furthermore, focusing on the specific temporal characteristics of the "critical period of development, the arduous period of reform, and the period where contradictions are prominent," General Secretary Xi Jinping clearly stated that the emergence of new contradictions and problems "is inevitable at this stage of development; they cannot be avoided or bypassed." This provided the scientific theoretical basis for the whole Party to establish the resolve and confidence to dare to struggle and dare to win.
It profoundly encapsulates the dialectical unity of the "two-point theory" and the "priority theory." [7] General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "In any work, we must talk about both the two-point theory and the priority theory. Without distinguishing between the primary and the secondary, and by 'grabbing both the eyebrows and the beard' [8] without distinction, work cannot be done well." In the practice of governance, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has focused both on overall planning and on "pulling the ox by the nose" [9]. They have profoundly grasped the relationships between primary and secondary contradictions, and between the primary and secondary aspects of contradictions encountered on the road ahead, prioritizing the resolution of primary contradictions and their primary aspects to drive the resolution of other contradictions.
For example, while making comprehensive deployments for the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects—covering all regions, populations, and fields—he also emphasized that "whether a society is moderately prosperous depends on the fellow villagers," [10] making poverty alleviation the baseline task. While making top-level designs for comprehensively deepening reform, he dared to push into "deep-water zones" and tackle "hard bones," [11] emphasizing the need to focus on reforms in important fields and key links. In implementing the New Development Philosophy, he emphasized it must be complete, accurate, and comprehensive, while also highlighting innovation as the primary driving force. In grasping the dialectical unity of development and security, he emphasized both development as the "top priority for development" and the "paramount matter of national security," safeguarding food security, energy security, and the security of industrial and supply chains, while preventing and defusing major financial risks. This provides a classic example for our work.
It profoundly encapsulates the dialectical unity of identity [12] and struggle. Identity and struggle are the two basic attributes of contradiction, driving the movement and change of things. The role of the struggle of contradictions is manifested in the states of quantitative and qualitative change. General Secretary Xi Jinping warned us: "When contradictions accumulate to a certain extent, a qualitative leap will occur." He noted that "various sources and points of contradiction, risk, and challenge are intertwined and interact. If prevention is untimely or response is ineffective, they will transmit, overlap, evolve, and upgrade, causing small contradictions and risks to develop into large ones, local ones into systemic ones, and international ones into domestic ones. Risks in economic, social, cultural, and ecological fields will transform into political risks, ultimately endangering the Party’s governing status and national security."
Since the 18th National Congress, facing several deep-seated contradictions with broad impact and high coupling, General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly recognized that: "If we turn a blind eye to contradictions, or even avoid and cover them up, flinch before them, and sit by as they transform for the worse, then problems will become deep-seated and difficult to change, ultimately causing irreparable losses." Therefore, one must face contradictions head-on, meet difficulties as they come without shifting responsibility or evading them, and respond actively to risks without flinching or dodging. By utilizing the complementary nature of contradictions, one promotes the development of things in the process of resolving them. This provides methodological guidance for the prosperity, development, and long-term stability of the Party and the country.
Practical Logic: Persisting in a Problem-Oriented Approach and Resolving Contradictions and Risks
Persisting in a problem-oriented approach is a distinct characteristic of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and is an important stance, viewpoint, and method for opening up new frontiers in the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism.
Problems are the manifestation of contradictions in things, and recognizing and resolving contradictions is precisely the breakthrough point for opening up new horizons in work. "Must persist in a problem-oriented approach" is an important component of the worldview and methodology of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.
Our Party is a large party, and it leads a large country. Facing the contradictions and problems arising in the governance of the country, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out the need to "continuously strengthen problem awareness and actively face and resolve the contradictions encountered on the road ahead." General Secretary Xi Jinping’s view of contradiction is implemented across all processes and aspects of reform, development, stability, domestic and foreign policy, national defense, and the governance of the Party, the state, and the military. It focuses on new problems encountered in practice, deep-seated problems in reform, development, and stability, the urgent anxieties and expectations of the masses, major problems in the changing international situation, and prominent problems facing Party building, continuously proposing new concepts, new ideas, and new methods to solve these problems.
For instance, when confronting issues such as imbalance, lack of coordination, and unsustainability arising during development, General Secretary Xi Jinping—standing at the height of a Marxist strategist and theorist—has repeatedly pointed out the need to view problems with a "comprehensive, dialectical, and long-term perspective." He applies the principle of the universality of contradictions to guide the practice of economic construction and map out developmental paths, making it clear that the imbalance and insufficiency of development "is a reflection of the principal contradiction [13] in our society; solving it cannot be achieved overnight [14]. We must both be proactive and persist over the long term."
On the issue of the roles of the market and the government, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasizes the need to apply dialectics and the "two-point theory" [15], making good use of both the "invisible hand" and the "visible hand." Regarding the question of "how a socialist state should treat capital"—a topic never addressed by Marx or Engels—he has integrated the basic tenets of Marxism with the specific realities of New Era China. He proposed "neither allowing 'capital predators' to act willfully and recklessly, nor failing to leverage the function of capital as a factor of production." By utilizing the dialectical unity of the identity and struggle of contradictions [16], he has provided a practical standard for resolving this unavoidable and major political and economic issue. This serves as a vivid example of Marxism radiating new vigor and vitality in 21st-century China.
Facing the impact of the pandemic of the century, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out the need to "transform pressure into motivation and be adept at turning crises into opportunities," revealing the mutual transformation between the two aspects of a contradiction and bolstering the resolve and confidence to coordinate epidemic prevention and control with economic and social development.
Regarding the construction of an ecological civilization [17], and faced with problems such as tightening resource and environmental constraints and ecosystem degradation, General Secretary Xi Jinping noted: "As the principal contradiction in our society has transformed into the contradiction between the people’s ever-growing need for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development, the masses' need for a beautiful ecological environment has become an important aspect of this contradiction."
In terms of maintaining national security, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "We must prevent and control all kinds of risks, but the focus must be on preventing and controlling those global risks that could delay or interrupt the process of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation."
On the issue of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, General Secretary Xi Jinping’s words have been deafening: "In recent years, some countries have seen public grievances boil over, social unrest, and the collapse of regimes due to long-accumulated contradictions, among which corruption is a very important reason. A large number of facts tell us that if the problem of corruption becomes increasingly severe, it will inevitably lead to the destruction of the Party and the state! We must be vigilant!" This profoundly reveals the transformation from quantitative change to qualitative change within the struggle of contradictions. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, through resolute struggle, the anti-corruption struggle has achieved an overwhelming victory and been fully consolidated, and the Party has become stronger through revolutionary forging [18].
Faced with the multitude of intertwined contradictions in development, the governance practices of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core have consistently adhered to the dialectical unity of "two-point theory" and "point-of-focus theory" [19]. By focusing closely on the principal contradiction and central tasks in economic and social development, they achieve breakthroughs in key areas within an overall advancement, using these breakthroughs to drive the leap of the whole. This achieves the effect of "once the headrope of the net is pulled, all the meshes open; once the fundamental is grasped, the secondary follows" [20].
To persist in a problem-oriented approach [21] to resolve and prevent contradictions, one must be adept at thinking about fundamental, global, and long-term issues, and conducting strategic, systemic, and forward-looking research and planning. One must be adept at discovering laws from general affairs and grasping logic from intricate and complex contradictory relationships; one must be adept at spotting clues from trend-related or nascent problems to prevent the spread and transformation of contradictory risks.
At the same time, it is necessary to persist in the concrete analysis of concrete conditions to achieve precision in policy implementation. Contradiction is the organic unity of universality and particularity. We must persist in acting according to local conditions, timing, and situations. In the process of achieving a familiar, comprehensive, and profound understanding of "what, why, and how" a contradiction is, we can further formulate policies and measures that are feasible, accurate, and smooth.
General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized many times that "socialism is achieved through action, and the New Era is also achieved through action." The resolution of contradictions and problems ultimately depends on the exertion of subjective initiative [22] characterized by the unity of purposiveness and law-governed nature. This requires Party and government cadres at all levels to work hard with practical results, take responsibility and be proactive, persist in a problem-oriented approach, strengthen bottom-line thinking, and effectively improve their ability to solve practical problems.
(Author's affiliation: Institute of Party History and Literature of the CPC Central Committee) Online Editor: Lian Yu Source: Outlook (Liáowàng) 2023.04