He then worked briefly in Shaanxi before being transferred to Anhui to take on increasingly senior leadership roles.

He worked at the education bureau of Jilin, before serving as Chinese Communist Party Deputy Committee Secretary of Changchun, the provincial capital.

Just over a year later, in August 2016, Li was elevated again to provincial party chief, again succeeding Wang Xuejun.

Although it was considered conventional practice for a sitting governor to advance to the party chief position, the rapid pace of the promotions between 2013 and 2016 was notable.

[3] On 23 October 2021, he was appointed vice chairperson of the National People's Congress Environment Protection and Resources Conservation Committee.