LI Yingren is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Division of Foreign Relations and Cooperation at the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences (CAFS), a leading research institution based in Beijing. Yingren is in charge of formulating and managing international cooperative plans and projects for CAFS, most focusing on fisheries and environmental protection.

Yingren also currently serves as Executive Secretary of the US-China Living Marine Resource Joint Coordination Panel, which meets under the aegis of the Protocol on Marine and Fishery Science and Technology Cooperation between the two countries. He also coordinates research by CAFS and several international institutions, including the WorldFish Center.

Yingren's interests centre on protecting the marine environment, living marine resources and wildlife, and improving the living conditions of fishing communities. In the early to mid-1980s, he researched the impact of pollution on fisheries and the issue of marine fishing by catch, and researched environmental issues and development strategies related to fisheries. His main concern now is ecological mariculture and the multifunctionality of fishing communities. For his contribution to these fields he has received several academic awards from CAFS and the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture.

His interests were fostered early on: he enrolled at Xiamen University to study marine biology at the age of 15. He has a BSc in marine biology (1984) and has finished postgraduate courses in management science at the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2002).