Li Xiaobo was born in Qingshuihe County, Inner Mongolia, in February 1963. He graduated from the Beijing University of Iron and Steel (now University of Science and Technology Beijing) in 1984, majoring in metal pressure processing. He later obtained a Master of Engineering degree from Xi'an Jiaotong University and an Executive Master of Business Administration from the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University.[3]
Li began his career in August 1984 at the Taiyuan Iron and Steel Company, where he worked as a technician in the primary rolling mill. Over the following years, he held a series of technical and managerial roles within the company, including deputy section chief, director of the production scheduling office, and deputy plant manager.[4] He steadily rose through the ranks of Taiyuan Iron and Steel Group, serving as plant manager, director of production, and later as deputy general manager.[5]
In 2001, Li was appointed general manager of Taiyuan Iron and Steel Group, and in 2002 he became vice chairman and general manager. He was promoted to chairman and general manager in 2008, and subsequently served as chairman of the company from 2008 to 2015, and as both chairman and party secretary from 2015 to 2017.[6][7]
In December 2017, Li transitioned into government service as party secretary of the Shanxi Provincial Commission of Economy and Information Technology, while continuing to serve as chairman of Taiyuan Iron and Steel Group.[8] In January 2018, he was appointed vice chairman of the Shanxi Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He later concurrently served as director of the provincial economic and information commission and subsequently as director of the Shanxi Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology.[9]
In early 2019, Li was appointed deputy secretary of the Taiyuan Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and acting mayor, and was confirmed as mayor in February 2019.[10][11] He served in this position until October 2020, after which he continued his role in the Shanxi Provincial Committee of the CPPCC.[12][13][14]
Li has been an alternate member of the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. He was also a deputy to the 11th National People's Congress and 12th National People's Congress, and a member of the 13th Shanxi Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.[15][16]