He was appointed as a staff member and attaché at the Chinese Embassy in Japan in 1985, and served till 1989.
From 2003 to 2007, he served as counsellor to the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations, and counselor and director of the Asian department in the ministry.
[1] From 2007 to 2011, he served minister counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Singapore, and deputy director of the General Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and counselor of the General Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On 20 May 2014, he presented his credentials to President of Vietnam Trương Tấn Sang and on 30 July 2014, at a reception hosted by Vietnamese political bureau member Nguyễn Thiện Nhân, Hong stated that relations between China and Vietnam is a "valuable asset of the two nations which should be further developed for future generations."
In July 2020, in an interview with Singaporean Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao, Hong stated that China-Singapore relations "has grown into mutually beneficial cooperation between a large country and a small country.” Hong's tenure as ambassador to Singapore ended in March 2022.