He attended Beijing Foreign Studies University and from 1981 to 1987 worked as a translator at the UN offices in Geneva.

In 1987, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, where he worked in various positions until 2009.

From 2009 to 2013, Liu was the Vice Minister of the International Liaison Department of the Chinese Communist Party.

Liu acted as President of the UN Security Council four times - in November 2013, February 2015, April 2016 and July 2017.

[1] Starting October 2017 and up to March 2018, Liu served as Deputy Director of the Taiwan Affairs Office.