Yu was born in
Wendeng, Shandong Province. Yu entered the work force as a chemical factory worker in
Taicang,
Jiangsu Province. He joined the
Chinese Communist Party in October 1975. In 1979, shortly after the resumption of the
National College Entrance Examination, Yu was admitted to the Chinese language department of
Renmin University. In 1983, he began working for the
Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party, then he began research on
Deng Xiaoping theory. Starting in 1991 he served as a political staffer to
Wang Zhen and
Ding Guangen. In 1995 he was made Assistant to the Mayor of
Xiamen, then in 2002 he was named deputy party secretary of Xiamen, and head of the Organization Department of Xiamen. In 2005, Yu was made deputy head, then head of the Organization Department of Fujian, and a member of the
provincial Party Standing Committee; in 2009, he was named party secretary of Xiamen. He was known to be proactive in engaging the concerns of residents on the internet. As a direct result of online discussions, Yu was able to tackle a transit fare problem faced by city residents. In Xiamen, he worked with
He Lifeng and
Liu Cigui, both of whom were considered "political stars" who were later promoted. In April 2013, he was named deputy party secretary of Fujian. In November 2015, Yu became the acting governor of Fujian; he became the oldest person to assume the post of Fujian Governor in some three decades, taking the office at the age of 60, which was the mandatory retirement age of sub-provincial level officials. This meant, effectively, that his 'political life' would be extended a further five years. In October 2017, he was appointed as the party secretary of Fujian. In December 2020, Yu was appointed as the Deputy Chairperson of the
National People's Congress Environment Protection and Resources Conservation Committee. Yu is an alternate of the
18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and a member of the
19th Central Committee. ==References==