He began his work with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1926 as a propagandist with the editorial department of the magazine "Oazo" (Huanzhou) and later with "Crossroads" (Shizi Jietou).

Pan became a CCP member in February 1927 and was assigned as managing editor of the "Revolutionary Army Daily" (Gemingjun Ribao) in Nanchang.

Pan escaped Shanghai with Zhou Enlai to Wuhan, but eventually returned to Shanghai to take up a leadership position with their paramount intelligence organization, the CCP Central Committee Special Branch (Zhongyang Teke, CCSB).

He became the head of CCSB's Second Section (intelligence) and later the Third Section (Red Squads), in 1931-33 stayed on in Shanghai as the rest of Central Committee was evacuated under intense pressure from KMT intelligence and police in the Shanghai International Settlement and the Shanghai French Concession.

On 3 April 1955 Pan was accused by the PRC Ministry of Public Security of "secretly seeking the assistance of the Japanese secret service organs and colluding with the major traitor Wang Jingwei".