Weilian CAO is a well-known expert in the field of financial policy and reform in China. He has long participated in the research and formulation of many important macro regulation policies, medium-and-long-term plans and major reform programs in the country. He has participated in the drafting of the first Central Economic Work Conference in 1994 and the preparation and drafting of three National Financial Work Conferences respectively in 1997, 2002 and 2007. In particular, he participated in the 2005 China Investment Corporation Preparation, and studies and preparations of the reform plans of the national policy banks and state-owned large commercial banks in 1993-2008, initiated and presided over the development and practice of policies and regulations on China's industrial investment funds, venture capital, and aircraft and ferry financing leases and participated in the  promotion of building the domestic credit system.

In 2008, he was the only official of the government then to win the "China's Entrepreneurship and Private Equity Investment Ten-Year Major Policy Contribution Award" granted by China's renowned financial and economic media due to his contributions to pushing forward the development of private equity funds. In 2009, he also shared the "2^nd China Economics Theory Innovation Award" with Yining LI and others due to his contributions to the joint-stock system reform research.