Li Yining (; 22 November 1930 – 27 February 2023) was a Chinese economist. He was a leading voice for the privatization of state-owned companies, and his advocacy led to the reestablishment of China's stock exchanges in 1990. For this reason, he is nicknamed "Li Gufen" (Stock Li), while Wu Jinglian is known as Wu Shichang (Market Wu). Along with Yu Guangyuan and Wu Jinglian, Li was credited with providing the theoretical basis for the market-oriented reform that has propelled China's economic growth. Li was a long-time professor at Peking University and founding dean of the Guanghua School of Management. Amongst his former students were Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Vice President Li Yuanchao. In 2004 Li Yining was awarded the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize of Japan. Li died in Beijing on 27 February 2023, at the age of 92. Early life Li Yining was born 22 November 1930 in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, but is considered a native of his ancestral home Yizheng by Chinese convention. He was raised in Shanghai and Hunan province. In 1951, he entered the Economics Department of Peking University, where he studied under prominent economists such as Chen Daisun (陈岱孙) and Luo Zhiru (), and was hired as a faculty member after graduating in 1955. However, only two years later he was labeled as a "rightist" when Mao Zedong launched the Anti-Rightist Movement, and during the Cultural Revolution (1966–76) he was again persecuted for his ideas and banished to a rural village where he performed manual labour for six years. Reform era After his political rehabilitation in 1978, Li Yining became a bold proponent of Deng Xiaoping's fledgling policy of economic reform. He insisted that the key first step of reform should be to privatize state-owned companies by introducing a shareholding system. However, the prevailing opinion among the reformers at the time was to first loosen price control. Li Yining unsuccessfully argued that ownership reform would initiate accountability for profits or losses and create a driving force for development, whereas price reform would only create a competitive environment for companies. For this theory he became known as "Mr. Stock Market Li". Li's vocal advocacy for the reform of state ownership, the bedrock of China's socialism, was supported by Yu Guangyuan 于光远 and Dong Furen 董辅礽, but met strong resistance from conservatives and exposed himself to significant political risk. In 1983 and 1984, his ideas were