Li Shulei


Li Shulei is a Chinese politician, currently serving as the Deputy Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Li spent most of his career in academia, before being dispatched for a short stint as head of the propaganda department in Fujian, then as head of discipline inspection in Beijing. He is known as a top advisor to Party general secretary and President Xi Jinping.

Biography

Li was born in Yuanyang County, Henan province. He entered Peking University in 1978 at the age of 14, studying library sciences. By the time he was 21 he already held a master's degree from Peking University. By age 24, Li earned a doctorate in modern Chinese literature. He earned the nickname "Peking University prodigy" while attending the prestigious institution.
In December 1989 he was transferred to work in the Central Party School of the Communist Party of China. By 1995, Li was named a professor at the party school. He taught literary history. During his tenure as a professor, he wrote many essays and critiques on ancient and modern Chinese literature, and became an influential figure in Chinese literary circles. Between 2001 and 2008, he served on the governing board of the school, serving as the director of the Literary History, Training, and Education Affairs departments.
During this time he served in two guazhi positions, as the deputy party chief of Qinglong Manchu Autonomous County, Hebei, and in 2004, as the deputy party chief of Xi'an. In December 2008, he was named vice president of the Central Party School, ascending to vice-ministerial ranks, and working directly under then-Central Party School president Xi Jinping. Li reputedly wrote many of Xi's speeches during the latter's term as Party School president.
In January 2014, he was named a member of the provincial Party Standing Committee of Fujian, and the head of party propaganda in the province. This was his first provincial tenure. His rise in politics had been compared to that of Wang Huning, another political heavyweight whose career originated in academia. Li was considered one of Xi Jinping's main advisors, and a main contributor to Xi's philosophy that "the party must guide the arts."
In January 2016, Li was named Secretary of Discipline Inspection of Beijing. In January 2017, Li was named Deputy Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
Li is a member of the 18th and 19th Central Commissions for Discipline Inspection.