Xiaoming Li received his PhD from University of Strathclyde in 1994, and then worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at University of Sheffield before joining Massey University in 1997. Since then, he has taught 12 different economics papers at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and supervised/examined research reports, MBS theses and PhD theses from both within and outside Massey University. Four supervised PhD students successfully completed their theses. After obtaining a PhD, three of them were subsequently appointed to, respectively, Senior Researcher, Senior Lecturer and Postdoctoral Research Fellow, and one has now become Full Professor.

Li’s research and teaching interests are in the fields of macroeconomics, financial economics, international economics/finance and Chinese economy. His research work straddles a wide range of topics. These topics look at co-movements of international commodity-equity and oil-equity markets; foreign exchange markets; diversification benefits of portfolios; asset pricing; risk management; stock markets in emerging economies, market efficiency; market integration; and China's macroeconomic stabilization, economic reform, economic growth, and policy impacts on financial markets.

Li has published extensively in refereed journals (including A*- and A-rated journals), books, and international conferences, and his articles have been widely cited and downloaded by other researchers including world-renowned ones. Li has reviewed close to 70 manuscripts submitted to various economics/finance journals, and has served on the editorial boards of the following journals: Scottish Journal of Political Economy (January 2005 – date), Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies (December 2001- date), TiBEC Journal of Business and Economics (June 2008 – date), The Open Economics Journal (2008 – 2012), Terengganu International Finance & Economics Journal (2011 – 2013), and International Centre of Science, Education and Academic Research for Scholars (ISS) (August 2012 – date).

Jointly with a professor from Nanjing University (P R China), Li as a co-leader and a principal investigator successfully applied for China's most prestigious NNSFC (National Natural Science Foundation of China) funding in 2011. Li received an Advanced Researcher Award in 2005, a First-Class Paper Prize in 2004, an Emerging Researcher Award in 2001, Citation of Excellence for Originality Awards for two journal articles published in 2001 and 1997, and an APEC Finance and Development Program Research Grant in 2003 with his research proposal being ranked number 2 in the ranking list of all proposals submitted by researchers from APEC member countries.

Li has been appointed by Nanjing University as Adjunct Professor, and by University of Macau as an external reviewer of promotion applications. He has been included in Marquis’ Who's Who in the World, the AcademicKeys Who's Who in Business Higher Education (WWBHE), and the Story of Successful Chinese People Overseas (New Zealand Volume 1).