Previously, he served as the head of the Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party Hebei Committee and the Mayor of Shijiazhuang.
Ai is the first leader of vice-ministerial level to spontaneously hand himself in to the anti-corruption agency of China after the implementation of Supervision Law in March 2018.
[4][5] He was appointed as the Vice-Chairman of the Hebei Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in 2015,[6] and he retired in January 2018.
[8] On July 31, 2018, Ai Wenli was placed under investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the party's internal disciplinary body, and the National Supervisory Commission, the highest anti-corruption agency of the People's Republic of China, for "serious violations of regulations and laws".
[13] He was accused of abusing his powers in former positions he held between 2005 and 2013 in Hebei to seek benefits for certain organizations and individuals in the matters of enterprise restructuring, project development and work arrangement.