Zhao was born in Yingshan County, Sichuan Province, in May 1966. He studied agronomy at the Department of Agronomy, Southwest Agricultural University from 1986 to 1990. He joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in October 1988 and began working in July 1990 at the Department of Science, Technology, Quality, and Education of the Sichuan Provincial Department of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry.[2]
From 1990 to 2004, Zhao progressed through various posts within the Sichuan agricultural system, ultimately serving as Director of the Department of Science, Technology, Quality, and Education of the Sichuan Provincial Department of Agriculture.[3] During this time, he also completed in-service graduate studies in crop genetics and breeding at the Corn Research Institute of Sichuan Agricultural University and earned a doctoral degree in agronomy.[4]
In October 2004, he was promoted to Chief Agronomist of the Sichuan Provincial Department of Agriculture. He participated in a training and internship program organized by the Sichuan Provincial Organization Department in the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, USA, between 2005 and 2006.[5]
In August 2007, he became deputy director of the Sichuan Provincial Department of Agriculture. The following year, Zhao was transferred to Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, where he served as a member of the CCP Prefectural Committee and Executive Vice Governor. In November 2010, he was appointed CCP Deputy Committee Secretary of Liangshan, and concurrently served as CCP Committee Secretary of Xichang from November 2011 to April 2013.[6]
In 2014, Zhao was appointed Deputy Party Secretary and Acting Mayor of Suining, officially becoming Mayor in August the same year.[7] In 2016, he became Party Secretary of Suining and briefly held the position of Mayor before fully transitioning into the party secretary role. From May 2018 to December 2019, he served as Party Secretary of Deyang.[8]
In December 2019, Zhao was transferred to Jiangsu Province and became a member of the Provincial Government Party Leadership Group. In January 2020, he was appointed Vice Governor of Jiangsu.[9] In April 2021, he became a member of the Standing Committee of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, concurrently serving as Secretary-General and Head of the Provincial Party Committee's Work Committee for Organs directly under the committee. From September 2021, Zhao served as Minister of the Organization Department of the Jiangsu Provincial CCP Committee.[10]
In October 2022, he was promoted to the national level as a Standing Committee Member of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and a member of the National Supervisory Commission.[11]