He worked in the Ministry of Chemical Industry [zh] before serving as mayor of Yueyang in August 1983.
He also served as director of Hunan Foreign Economic and Trade Commission between August 1984 and January 1985.
In February 1995, Chen was transferred to Beijing and appointed minister of Internal Trade [zh].
In March 2000, he became a member of the 9th Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
In June 2000, he was made chairperson of the Population, Resources and Environment Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, serving in the post until his retirement in March 2008.