In 2004, Liu established the companies Tianping Auto Insurance and Guohua Life Insurance. In April 2013, Tianping formed a joint venture with AXA.

In April 2014, Liu paid HK$281.24 million (US$36.3 million) for a 500-year-old Ming dynasty doucai chicken cup.

In March 2015, he paid HK$348 million (US$45 million) for a 600-year-old embroidered silk thangka (tapestry) that was commissioned by the Yongle Emperor of the Ming dynasty. It was a record high price for a Chinese work of art sold by an international auction house. Later that month, he bought an antique Tibetan bronze yogi sitting in the lotus position at an auction at Sotheby’s in New York.

In April 2015, he paid US$14.7 million for a Guan ware vase from the Southern Song dynasty.

In November 2015, he bought Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani’s Nu couché (1917–18), a widely known painting of a reclining nude woman, for US$170.4 million, the second-highest price for an artwork at auction, in a volatile sale at Christie’s in New York. He paid for the painting with his American Express credit card.

Liu and his wife Wang Wei founded the Long Museum, with two locations in Shanghai. In 2016, a third location was opened in Chongqing and a Wuhan branch is scheduled for 2018.