Li, 23, studied at the Juilliard School in New York under Robert McDonald and later honed his skills with Dmitri Alexeev and Dang Thai Son.
A prizewinner at several international competitions, he has performed in China, Japan, Poland, Germany, Italy and the United States.
The remaining five contestants on Wednesday were Li’s compatriot Tianyao Lyu, Vincent Ong from Malaysia, Miyu Shindo from Japan, and two Polish pianists, Piotr Pawlak and Yehuda Prokopowicz.
Pawlak, 27, has won numerous international awards, including first place at the Maj Lind Piano Competition in Helsinki in 2022 and second prize at the Chopin Competition on Historical Instruments in Warsaw in 2023.
He has toured widely across Europe and performed in the United States, Canada, Japan, China and Russia.
A graduate of the Music Academy in Gdańsk, northern Poland, Pawlak also holds a degree in mathematics from the University of Gdańsk and is pursuing a doctorate in mathematics.
He combines a course of lectures and an intensive concert schedule with regular travels to Italy, where he is developing his pianistic skills at the prestigious International Piano Academy Lake Como.
Pawlak is taking part in the Warsaw Chopin competition for the third time.
Asked about his interests outside music, he told reporters: "I spend a week skiing in winter and a week on a bike in summer. This summer, though, it was nothing but practicing on the piano."
Prokopowicz was born on November 16, 2005 in Netanya, Israel. He spent the first eight years of his life near Jerusalem, beginning piano lessons with his sister at age four.
After moving to Poland, he continued his education at primary and secondary music schools in the southern city of Kraków, graduating last year.
He now studies with Krzysztof Książek at the Academy of Music in Kraków. A laureate of more than 30 competitions in Poland and abroad, he has won prizes including at the Artur Rubinstein in Memoriam contest in the Polish city of Bydgoszcz.
In an interview with Polish Radio 2, the public broadcaster’s arts and music channel, following his second-stage performance, Prokopowicz singled out the mazurkas as his favourite genre in Chopin’s output.
He likened interpreting different composers to exploring new cities. “The towns contained in Chopin’s music are truly beautiful,” he said.
He added that his greatest joy comes from connecting with the audience.
Outside music, Prokopowicz is keen on sports, particularly tennis and swimming, and has a strong interest in fashion, favouring refined clothing and fancy hats.
A total of 20 pianists are competing in the semifinals, including six from China, three from Japan, three from Poland, two each from South Korea and the United States, and one each from Georgia and Malaysia.
Poland’s Piotr Alexewicz is set to perform on Thursday.
The names of the finalists will be announced on Thursday night.
(mk/gs)