Born in November 1964, Xiao joined the foreign service in 1986 and previously filled posts in Ethiopia, India, the United States, and the Philippines.

In November 2012, he succeeded Gao Jian (diplomat) as Chinese ambassador to Hungary, serving in that position from 2012 to 2015.

He was designated by President Xi Jinping in December 2017 according to the decision of the National People's Congress, to replace Xie Feng as Chinese ambassador to Indonesia.

In January 2022, he was appointed Chinese ambassador to Australia, succeeding Cheng Jingye [zh].

[7] while responding to Australian reporters regarding similar comments from Chinese Ambassador to France.