Liu was born in the rural outskirts of Weihai, Shandong province, in what is present-day Huancui District; he went to Dalian with his mother to reunite with his father there. Liu joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1959, and spent his early career in various incarnations of the Weihai municipal office before, during, and after the Cultural Revolution. In 1986 he was named prefecture party chief of Linyi, Shandong. In 1988 he was transferred to become deputy party chief of Guangxi, then in 1993 also became chair of the regional People's Congress. He was then transferred to Inner Mongolia. After his retirement from active 'frontline' politics, he was named chair of the National People's Congress Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee in 2003, where he served one term, before leaving politics for good.[1]