[3] Soon after Hong Kong's handover from Britain to China on 1 July 1997, Liu was promoted to lieutenant general at the end of the month, outranking his British predecessors.

[1] In March 1999, Liu became Deputy Commander of the Guangzhou Military Region, which oversaw the Hong Kong Garrison.

He was promoted to Commander of the Guangzhou MR in January 2002, and became a full member of the CCP's 16th Central Committee in November.

[1] In June 2007, Liu was transferred to Beijing to serve as Deputy Chief of the PLA General Staff Department,[2] a position he held until July 2009.

He retired from his military career, and was appointed in February 2010 as deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the 11th National People's Congress.