Professor Li has received a number of significant national and international awards for his pioneering work in soft power research, health and journalism education, including Quaid-i-Azam Prize awarded by Pakistan President, UNAIDS Awards for Outstanding Contribution to the Control of AIDS，China's Best Health Educator, China's Best Course of News Reporting and Writing, China Top 10 Educator. He is internationally known for teaching a course "Writing caravan on the Silk Road" for over 20 years and which has been named by Tsinghua University as one of the most Challenging Course of the university.

Professor Li's recent books are "The War between Science and Journalism"(2017), “China Pakistan Economic Corridor”(2016), "Writing on Asian borderlands"(2015）, "Who is blinding you? the basics of media literacy"（2014)，second edition), "Soft power and global communcation"(2005), "Soft power and China Dream"(2010, Korean edition 2013), "Soft power in shaping public opinions"(2013), "Basics for News Writing and Reporting"(2013). He used to write a regular column on the English newspaper Global Times.

Professor Li got his B.A. in English and American Language and Literature from Nanjing University in 1982. He was a assistant research scientist with the Institute of Theoretical Physics of Chinese Academy of Science(1982-1985). He had his Master of Law in English journalism from the Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He was director and senior editor with the political and cultural desk of the world service department of Xinhua News agency(1988-1998), UNESCO Young Scholar of Silk Roads(1990-1993), Science writer with the Washington Post(1995), Shorenstein Fellow of the Center for Press, Politics and Public Policy of Harvard University(1999), Visiting Scholar of New College of Oxford University(2018).