As a footballer, he played as a centre back and was known for his extraordinary ability and superb running game.
However, he was still able to play within the 1976 AFC Asian Cup and help China to a third-place finish before he retired.
Qi would go on to manage the national team to a silver medal in the 1994 Asian Games football tournament.
[2] While he experienced some success with the team, he could not guide China to a place in the FIFA World Cup and was replaced by Bob Houghton after he resigned.
he would return to Guangzhou to help manage them to push for promotion back into the top tier; unable to achieve this, he would leave at the end of the 2006 league season.