Liu was born in Nanjing, Jiangsu, on December 1, 1936, while his ancestral home is in Wuhan, Hubei.
In 1953 he was accepted to the Harbin Institute of Technology, and three years later he entered Tsinghua University.
In June 1979 he pursued advanced studies at the University of Birmingham and University of Essex in the United Kingdom, where he studied radar technology under Sherman.
On January 8, 2019, he was honored with the 2018 Highest Science and Technology Award, China's highest scientific award, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
[3][4] In his private personal life, Liu is an enthusiast and appreciator of the music of German composer and pianist, Ludwig van Beethoven.