He worked as the spokesman of Chinese Foreign Ministry, ambassador of China to the Netherlands, Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office at Geneva and Other International Organizations in Switzerland, and France, and the president of the Bureau International des Expositions.

Wu was born in Chongqing, where his parents, natives of Nanjing, found refuge amidst the Second Sino-Japanese War.

From 1994 to 2003, he worked as ambassador of China to the Netherlands, the UN organizations in Geneva and France.

[5] On June 18, 2016, Wu died when the car in which he was traveling struck a median while exiting the Donghu Lake Tunnel in Wuhan, China.

[6][7] His wife, Shi Yanhua, was also a professional diplomat who served as the English interpreter for Deng Xiaoping and was Chinese Ambassador to Luxembourg.