He was born in Yongding County, Fujian into a Hakka family whose ancestral roots are usually traced to Xingning, Guangdong.

After the resumption of the National College Entrance Examination, he gained admission to the Xiamen University school of economics; he studied finance.

He worked successively in Xiamen, Quanzhou, Fuzhou During this time, he cultivated close ties to CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping, who also worked in Fujian at the time; he reportedly attended Xi's wedding ceremony with Peng Liyuan.

[10] In October 2022, he pledged to support the digital economy during a report to the National People's Congress Standing Committee.

[12] On 12 March 2023, he was appointed a vice premier of the State Council, and became responsible for economic and financial affairs.

In April 2023, he attended the China International Consumer Product Expo in Haikou, Hainan, where he said the expansion of consumption was a top priority.

[15] In October 2023, he was formally named as the director of the Office of the CCP Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission.

[17][18]In October 2023, at the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, He said China encouraged "companies from all countries to focus on big data, artificial intelligence, e-commerce and new energy".

[21] In July 2024, he met with a delegation of the US-China Business Council, calling on US companies to "play a strong role" in China's economy.

[22] In an article in People's Daily in the same month, he called for promoting new productive forces through a well-coordinated government and efficient market.

[27] He visited the United States in November 2023 and met with Janet Yellen in San Francisco before the APEC summit.