In 1982, Li became the Communist Youth League secretary at Peking University. He entered the top leadership of the national organization of the Communist Youth League (CYL) in 1983 as a member of its secretariat, and has worked closely with former Party General Secretary Hu Jintao, who also rose through the ranks of the CYL, ever since. Li became the organization's First Secretary in 1993 and served until 1998. He is a representative member of the first generation to have risen from the CYL leadership.