[1] On 14 March 2015, he made his Super League debut in a 2-0 away defeat at Jiangsu Sainty, coming on as a substitute for Magnus Eriksson in the 76th minute.

[3] He would remain loyal towards the club as they moved locations, renamed themselves Beijing Renhe and gained promotion back into the top tier at the end of the 2017 league season.

[8] After returning to Guoan following a loan spell at Yatai, Cao reached his career peak during the 2024 season, where he scored a career-high 8 goals in only 15 appearances, which paved his way into being selected by the national team.

On 7 April 2023, Cao joined fellow Chinese Super League club Changchun Yatai on loan for the 2023 season.

On 14 November 2024, Cao made his international debut in a 1-0 away win against Bahrain in the third round of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification.