Along with Yu Guangyuan and Wu Jinglian, Li was credited with providing the theoretical basis for the market-oriented reform that has propelled China's economic growth.

[4] Li Yining was born 22 November 1930 in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, but is considered a native of his ancestral home Yizheng by Chinese convention.

[6] In 1951, he entered the Economics Department of Peking University, where he studied under prominent economists such as Chen Daisun (陈岱孙) and Luo Zhiru (罗志如), and was hired as a faculty member after graduating in 1955.

[6] After his political rehabilitation in 1978, Li Yining became a bold proponent of Deng Xiaoping's fledgling policy of economic reform.

[2][6] Li's vocal advocacy for the reform of state ownership, the bedrock of China's socialism, was supported by Yu Guangyuan (于光远) and Dong Furen (董辅礽), but met strong resistance from conservatives and exposed himself to significant political risk.

[6] Li Yining's theory was vindicated in 1988, when premature price liberalization resulted in severe inflation and social instability that endangered the entire reform process.