Prominent Chinese economist Li Yining gives a speech at Peking University in 2018. Known for advocating for private investment in state-owned enterprises and overseeing the creation of China’s 1998 Securities Law, Li died at age 92 in Beijing on Monday. Photo: Courtesy of the Guanghua School of Management of Peking University

Li’s elementary and high school class photos. A native of Nanjing, East China’s Jiangsu province, Li earned an economics degree in 1955 from the elite Peking University, where he would go on to teach for the remainder of his career. Photo: Courtesy of Peking University

Li listens to his teacher Zhao Naituan at Peking University in 1961. Zhao inspired Li to take interest in institutional economics. Photo: Courtesy of Peking University

Li sits with his wife He Yuchun at Peking University in 1974. Photo: Courtesy of the Guanghua School of Management

Students gather to listen to Li speak in 1984. Photo: Courtesy of Peking University

Li revises student theses in 1988. Li was a founding dean of the university’s Guanghua School of Management and mentored former premier Li Keqiang when he studied for a Ph.D. in economics at the university. Photo: Courtesy of Peking University

Li speaks with then Vice Premier Zhu Rongji (left) when attending a meeting in 1994. Li was a member of the standing committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) from 1988 to 2003, during which time he focused on reforming state-owned enterprises, according to Peking University. Photo: Courtesy of the Guanghua School of Management

Reporters swarm Li outside the bathroom in 2008 at China’s annual legislative meetings, the “two sessions.” Photo: Courtesy of the Guanghua School of Management

Li Yining arrives early to the Two Sessions in 2013 to review materials. Li was elected to China’s top political advisory committee for three consecutive terms starting in 2003, shifting his focus to rural land rights, poverty alleviation and the development of the private economy. Photo: Courtesy of the Guanghua School of Management

Li Yining shakes hands with Li Keqiang in 2017. Photo: Courtesy of the Guanghua School of Management

Li is at an event celebrating Peking University’s 120th anniversary in 2018. His contributions in reforming China’s economy earned him the honorary title of “Pioneer of China’s Reform and Opening-Up” from the central government. Photo: IC Photo