Li later was qualified and obtained Zhejaing provincial finance support to study in the United States.
In October 1934, Li along with Wang Guosong and Zhang Tingjin (張廷金) co-founded the Chinese Society for Electrical Engineering.
In 1941, due to Japanese invasion during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chiao Tung University in Shanghai had to move to the war-time capital of China – Chongqing.
After the war, Li kept his professor position at Chiao Tung University and was the vice-director of Shanghai Education Bureau (上海市教育局).
Li was the first to third director of the Institute of Electronics of National Chiao Tung University (NCTU) in Hsinchu.