 At the 16th Party Congress in November 2002, Li, as Mayor of Chengdu, became an alternate member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, a rare feat for someone who was merely a prefecture-level mayor.In June 2003, he was promoted to become the Party Secretary of Chengdu and a Standing Committee member of the provincial Party Committee.In 2007, Li, who was in a higher position than he was in 2002, failed to get re-elected as an alternate member of the Central Committee.