He received the Outstanding Faculty Award from The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia for his contributions to teaching, research, and public service.

[7] Li has contributed to China's prosperity as a public intellectual and was among the pioneers who co-organized open letters for Chinese students, as highlighted in a feature by The New York Times.

[13] As an artist, Li's life took a transformative turn when he was assigned to paint a memorial portrait for Mao Zedong's funeral during his time in the army.

[17] Additionally, he served as a Political Cartoonist and presented his observations on how Western nations approach business with a focus on rule-oriented practices as opposed to relying on relations in East Asia through a cartoon-illustrated volume titled Together or Separate Checks?

[18] Li is most known for his work in the fields of China's demographics, governance environment, bribery and corruption, and economic behavior, which has been featured twice in The Economist.

[35] In addition, he explored how state-owned enterprises and non-state firms in China deploy resources and formulate strategies, leading to different performances during the economic transition.

[38] He examined how the governance environment of a country affects the working relationships between expatriate managers and local employees in relation-based economies,[39] the choice between direct and indirect investment,[40][41] and trade flows.

[42] Li also investigated several aspects of bribery and corruption and demonstrated how it affects the dynamics of the country at both economic and political levels, particularly in China.

[49] He is the son of Li Honglin, who played a significant role in the Chinese Communist Party to herald the post-Mao opening up and reforms in the 1970s and 1980s.