Bai worked in the newspaper industry before moving to televised news and eventually became an anchor for Focus Report and Oriental Horizon, where he had a reputation as a politically incisive journalist.

Born in Inner Mongolia, he lived on a university campus with his parents who were both professors and graduated from the Beijing Broadcasting Institute before beginning his career in journalism.

Bai has extensively covered diplomatic ties between China and Japan during his tenure at CCTV and is part of a political consultancy group that advises the two countries on Sino-Japanese relations.

[2][4][5] He helped found the CCTV program Oriental Horizon and was chosen to be a regular anchor for the show in January 1996, sharing the post with several other journalists.

[2] In the midst of warming ties between China and Japan, Bai filmed a documentary piece for CCTV in 2007 focusing on Japanese culture and the early history of Sino-Japanese relations.

[8] Bai later presided over a forum on Sino-Japanese relations, which included ministerial-level officials from Japan and China and discussed issues such as military spending and Tibet.

Following a 2008 meeting of the group, he spoke approvingly of a speech by then Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda for emphasizing a collective view of their interests stating that "For Sino-Japanese relations, it is no longer the question of 'You' and 'I'.

"[16] Following anti-Japanese demonstrations over the East China Sea islands dispute, Bai decried acts of violence during the protests as committing crimes under the guise of patriotism.

During the gala, Bai held on-stage interviews with the Chinese Health Minister, the Executive Director of the CRRF, and the General Manager for the Global Fund.