Communist China
His scholarly contributions focused on the economic system of Communist China and its performance. His books, the "Economic Development of Communist China" (1959) and "The Statistical System of Communist China (1962)" were seminal works before China sealed itself off from outsiders. Li’s continuous study of social and economic problems of China helped establish UC-Berkeley as a center for scholarly research on China. His expertise in international trade and economics helped establish international business in the School of Business Administration curricula.