Eric Xun Li (born 1968) is a Chinese venture capitalist and social scientist. A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, Eric received his MBA from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University and his PhD in political science from Fudan University. He is the founder of Chengwei Capital and a member of the Council of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He is also a director of China Europe International Business School and a trustee of the China Institute at Fudan University.
In a 2012 op-ed and a 2013 TED talk, Li argued against the idea that human societies develop in a linear progression toward a single political end, and asserted that neither communism nor electoral democracy should be singularly spread throughout the world, as there exists more than one way to run a successful modern nation; as an example, he cited China as a nation which has prospered under a meritocratic system and alleviated poverty without elections.