Wang Yi was born in October 1953 in Beijing and worked in the countryside in Northeast China as one of the hundreds of millions of urban youths sent to rural areas for reeducation between 1969 and 1977.

In March 1978, he entered Beijing No 2 Foreign Languages Institute to study Japanese. He was one among the 270,000 young people to succeed in the National College Entrance Examinations, which was resumed after more than 10 years.

Upon graduation, he joined the Foreign Ministry, rising in rank from staff member and attach and deputy division chief, to division chief of the Department of Asian Affairs between 1982 and 1989.