Li, the Commonwealth Games gold medallist in Glasgow in 2014, fought back from a game down to stun the world number three 16-21, 21-18, 21-17 in the Group B contest at the Tianhe Gymnasium.

Defeat for Chen means she must overcome 2013 world champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand tomorrow and hope other results go her way if she is to get out of the group.

"In the beginning, I wasn't as clear about the strategy and tactics I wanted to use," said Li.

"I was rushing and a lot of mistakes were coming from that. 

"In the second game, I slowed down and tried to concentrate because I was getting frustrated and I think that worked really well. 

"In the third game, I was taking it one point at a time and she started to feel the pressure and then she started making mistakes."

In Group A, Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu all-but sealed her place in the last four with a battling three-game win over top seed and pre-tournament favourite Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei.

The Indian player recovered from losing the opener to clinch a hard-fought 14-21, 21-16, 21-18 triumph in a match which lasted just over an hour.

In the men's singles tournament, reigning world champion Kento Momota of Japan also picked up his second straight victory at the season-ending event as he comfortably dispatched Thailand's Kantaphon Wangcharoen 21-15, 21-7 in Group B.

There was a surprise in a Group A contest today as South Korea's Son Wan-ho claimed a shock 18-21, 21-11, 21-4 win over top seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei.

China's Shi Yuqi gave his chances of qualifying for the last four a significant boost as he ousted Anthony Ginting of Indonesia 21-8, 21-19 in the other match in the group.

A total prize pot of $1.5 million (£1.2 million/€1.3 million) is up for grabs, with the top eight players in the world across each category going head-to-head for the final major title of the year.

The tournament is due to continue tomorrow and concludes with the finals on Sunday (December 16).