Yuan joined the central organization of the Communist Youth League (CYL) shortly after graduating from Peking University.
In October 1997, Yuan was named a standing committee member of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, taking up his first major role outside of the CYL.
At the CCDI he became widely known for announcing the results of the investigation into the "Yuanhua scandal" in Xiamen involving tycoon Lai Changxing.
While in Xi'an Yuan was known to have released a white paper about the city's development, and became one of the "most watched municipal party chiefs in the country."
He was then named one of the deputy chiefs of the Office for Rural Work, presumably maintaining his full provincial rank until October 2017.