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Robin Li

Updated: 2019-04-18

Robin Li, male, of the Han nationality, non-partisan, was born in November 1968 in Yangquan city, Shanxi province. He is the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Baidu Inc., China's most popular Internet search engine, and oversees the company's overall strategy and business operations.

In 1991, Li graduated from Peking University where he studied information management. He then attended the University at Buffalo, the State University of New York in the US to study for a master's degree in computer science. Li joined IDD Information Services, a New Jersey division of Dow Jones and Company, where he helped develop a software program for the online edition of The Wall Street Journal. He also worked as a staff engineer for Infoseek, a pioneer internet search engine company. His patent for hyperlink analysis is among the inventions that shaped today's search technology.

Since founding Baidu in January 2000, Li has turned the company into the second-largest independent search engine in the world and the largest in China after more than 10 years of development. With Baidu's success, China stands proudly with the United States, Russia and South Korea as one of the four countries in the world to possess its own core search engine technology. In August 2005, Baidu successfully completed its IPO on NASDAQ, and in December 2007 became the first Chinese company to be included in the NASDAQ-100 Index. Baidu has become one of the most valuable brands in China.

In 2013, Li was elected a member of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and vice-president of the China Civilian Chamber of Commerce. He also held the posts of vice-chairman of the 11th All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and vice-chairman of the 8th Beijing Association for Science and Technology. He was honored as a "National Distinguished Expert" under The Recruitment Program for Innovative Talents.

On Jan 19, 2018, Time magazine published an exclusive interview with Robin Li, putting him on the cover of its Asian edition with the title "the innovator". This was the first time that a Chinese internet entrepreneur has been on the cover of the magazine. On Dec 18, 2018, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council awarded Robin Li the title and medal of "reform pioneer".