Yao was born in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, in April 1962. He studied journalism at the Department of Journalism of Fudan University from October 1978 to August 1982. After graduation, he joined the Xinhua Daily, where he worked as an editor in the political and legal affairs section before serving in various reporting roles, including as chief of the Nanjing bureau. He joined the Chinese Communist Party in March 1986. From May 1990, Yao held several leadership positions at Xinhua Daily, including deputy director of the reporting department, deputy secretary-general, and director of the external publicity department. He was promoted to chief reporter in December 1992. Between 1992 and 1993, he was assigned to the provincial poverty alleviation task force in Shuyang County. In August 1995, Yao became assistant president and Party committee member of Xinhua Daily. The following year, he was appointed deputy secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Communist Youth League. During this period, he also pursued further studies at the International Business School of Nanjing University.[3][4]
From 1999 to 2000, he served as deputy director of the Jiangsu Provincial Broadcasting and Television Department and concurrently as director of Jiangsu People's Radio Station. He subsequently worked in the Jiangsu Provincial Publicity Department, where he rose to deputy minister, and simultaneously served as Party secretary of Jiangsu Broadcasting General Station and chairman of Jiangsu Broadcasting Group Co., Ltd. Between 2002 and 2004, he was deputy secretary-general of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee, while continuing to oversee the broadcasting system. In December 2008, he obtained a doctoral degree in management from Nanjing Agricultural University.[5][6]
In July 2011, Yao was appointed deputy Party secretary and acting mayor of Changzhou, and was confirmed as mayor in January 2012.[7] In February 2013, he became Party secretary of Huai'an.[8] In January 2014, he was concurrently elected chairman of the Huai'an Municipal People's Congress, serving until December 2019. In December 2019, Yao was appointed member of the Party Leadership Group of the CPPCC Jiangsu Provincial Committee. In January 2020, he was elected vice chairman of the CPPCC Jiangsu Provincial Committee. He was re-elected to this post in January 2023.[9][10]
Yao has served as a delegate to the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, a deputy to the 12th National People's Congress, and a member of the 12th and 13th Jiangsu Provincial Committees of the CPPCC.[11]