Guo Shuqing was born in August 1956 in Chahar Right Back Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, near the city of Ulanqab.

In August 1974, he joined a farming commune in Siziwang Banner, near the regional capital Hohhot, as a laborer during the Down to the Countryside Movement.

In 1978, he became part of the first batch of students to return to school after the Cultural Revolution, a period which effectively suspended higher education in China.

[1] Beginning in 1988, Guo became a full-time researcher at the State Council, working in various capacities for institutions related to economic restructuring.

[citation needed] In March 2013, Guo was tasked with his second regional stint, this time taking on the office of Governor of Shandong province.