[2] After this success he would receive his first international call-up, however on June 11, 2005, he was severely attacked at a restaurant on a night out with his wife and her family, with his injuries he would miss much of the 2005 league season.
With several managers coming in fight off relegation Chen found himself slipping down the pecking order within the team with the 2009 league season being the difficult period for Chen after he fell out of favour within the team and only played a small part within the campaign.
When the season ended the club decided not to renew his contract, however he was recommended to Shanghai Shenhua where despite being over 31 years old and one of the oldest players within the squad he would still quickly establish himself as regular within the team.
[5] Chen Yongqiang's former Shenzhen manager Zhu Guanghu would include him in his first squad to play against Spain in a friendly on March 26, 2005, that China lost 3–0.
[7] Due to his injuries he experienced after his restaurant attack he missed several months out of football and would lose his place within the team.