| 1993-1996 | Mayor of Nanhai City |
| 1996-2003 | Secretary of Municipal Party Committee |
While being in position as mayor of Nanhai, Deng Yaohua advocated progressively for technological reform. In 1996, Deng Yaohua established e-commerce infrastructures; due to Deng's high profile, large investments from IT industry flowed to Nanhai. Deng thus became known as "IT Deng".
source: Sina News