Li was born in 1961 and was an offshore oil worker in the north China sea prior to college.

[1] After graduation, Li practiced law in New York with Davis Polk & Wardwell and Brown & Wood.

He also began to work in the financial services sector, including in corporate and securities law practices, corporate finance and advisory services in New York, mainland China and New York, and joined Merrill Lynch in 1994 and became president of Merrill Lynch China in 1999.

At the time, JP Morgan was investigated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the US Department of Justice into possible violation of anti-bribery laws by improperly hiring relatives of Chinese officials, known as "princelings", to win business.

[8][9] He was also appointed a member of the governing council of the University of Hong Kong in 2020, serving a term for three years.