Hu joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in July 1986, nearing graduation.

[3] He was party branch secretary of Shanxi Provincial Economic and Information Commission in January 2012, concurrently holding the director position.

[3][6] He took up the post of vice governor which he held from April 2019 to June 2021, although he remained secretary-general of the CCP Shanxi Provincial Committee until May 2019.

[3][7][8] In June 2021, Hu was transferred to the coastal province Liaoning, where he was appointed party secretary of Dalian and was admitted to member of the Standing Committee of the CCP Liaoning Provincial Committee, the province's top authority.

[3] In October 2021, he was elevated to deputy party secretary of Liaoning, succeeding Zhou Bo.