Liu, generally perceived by observers to be a conservative and orthodox Communist, oversaw the gradual tightening of internet controls in China during his tenure, as well as an overall reduction in free discourse and civil society.

Liu was born to an ordinary family of farmers in Tumed Qi in Inner Mongolia; he traces his ancestry to Xinzhou, Shanxi province.

Liu, considered a censorship hard-liner, was seen as a staunchly conservative member of the Standing Committee who religiously upheld party orthodoxy.

[7] Others suggest that Liu was a balancing force in that he had both Communist Youth League experience and loyally upheld party orthodoxy as a conservative.

[8] That Liu Yunshan effectively succeeded in the portfolios held by two individuals prior to the Congress was arguably an indication of the breadth of his power.

However, unlike his predecessors Xi Jinping and Zeng Qinghong, Liu did not take on the office of Vice President as was customary for the two previous first-ranked Secretaries of the Secretariat, which went to Li Yuanchao.

[9]: 21 During the Xi Jinping Administration's crackdown on corruption, which began in 2013, Liu acted as the top official attending the leadership transition meeting in the aftermath of the political 'earthquake' in Shanxi province which saw the removal of a large number of top provincial leaders, including Party Secretary of Shanxi Yuan Chunqing.

That a Standing Committee member attended the 'transition meeting' was regarded as extremely unusual, as generally the central authorities in Beijing would dispatch the head of the Organization Department to such an event.

[10] In November 2013, Liu announced that the Central Party School would begin a training program on "General Secretary Xi Jinping's series of important remarks.

Liu also accompanied the North Korean leader in watching the military parade marking the 70th Anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party of Korea.

[12] Perhaps due to his wide influence over the portfolios of propaganda and ideology, Liu has played a somewhat unusual role in representing the Chinese leadership in meetings with global technology companies.

Liu met with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in March 2016,[13] and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in November 2016.