He was appointed the secretary of secretariat of the political department of Air Force army corps in March 1966.

In July 1981, he was promoted to director of the cadre section of the political department of Air Force in Shenyang Military Region.

From March to May 1989, he was trained as a senior official at PLA National Defense University.

From November 1992 to January 1999, he served as political commissar and Party chief of PLA Air Force.

Ding was a delegate to 7th National People's Congress,[2] and was a member of 14th and 15th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.