In August 2016, Li Yuan joined the Sinopec Economic and Development Research Institute Company Limited and engaged in Energy-Saving-and-Emission-Reduction policies and economic research. From October 2017 to April 2022, Dr.Li joined the Sinopec Energy Management Company Limited and conducted research on low-carbon economy, enterprise energy saving and emission reduction practices, carbon peak and carbon neutrality, and many other fields. In April 2022, Dr.Li joined the School of Management, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing). She has led or participated in more than 30 research projects and published more than 10 high-quality academic papers.