[citation needed] He served as chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission from its creation in 2003 until he reached the retirement age of 65.

During his tenure he was responsible for putting in place an effective regulatory structure which helped the Chinese banking system weather the global financial crisis and emerge relatively healthy and well capitalized.

Liu told the Boao Forum for Asia in 2012 that liberalization of financial markets is "part of a package" in the latest Five-Year Plan for promoting domestic-driven growth and rebalancing exports and imports.

[2] He was sent to do manual labour at a farm in Jiangsu province where he taught himself English studying old BBC textbooks and listening to VOA.

[2] Liu was influenced by Margaret Thatcher's privatisation in 1984 while serving at the Bank of China's branch in London.