[1] In 1974, during the later years of the Cultural Revolution, Zhao went to the countryside as a sent-down youth to perform manual labour at an agricultural commune in Guide County, Qinghai.

After working there for about a year, Zhao returned to the city to become a communications assistant at the Commerce Department of the Qinghai provincial government.

[1] Zhao joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1975 and entered Peking University in 1977 as a Worker-Peasant-Soldier student; he received an undergraduate degree of philosophy there in January 1980.

[1] Having 'jumped' several levels in a short period of time, Zhao's upward trajectory began to slow by the turn of the century.

[2] Zhao's tenure in Qinghai was marked by rapid economic growth, and a tripling of the province's GDP from the time he took office as Governor to when he left as party secretary in 2007.

[6] According to The Wall Street Journal, Zhao "has been taking a largely hands-off approach during his time in office and barely involved in making decisions on investigations".

[7] In September 2021, Zhao spoke at a conference, announcing a nationwide audit of major financial firms and regulators.

On 10 March 2023, he was appointed the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, succeeding Li Zhanshu.