He served as chief of staff and deputy commander of the Lanzhou Military Region and president of the PLA National Defence University (1995–2002).

[2] He served as Chief of Staff of the Lanzhou Military Region from 1985 to 1988, and was awarded the rank of major general in 1988.

[2] After 1988 he served as deputy commander of the Lanzhou MR, and attained the rank of lieutenant general in 1993.

[1] In 1996, Xing published an article in the Communist Party journal Qiushi, entitled "Put an end to the China threat theory".

He further argued that since the United States maintains a large network of military bases far from its homeland and tries to impose its own values on other nations, it has been and will continue to be a cause of conflicts in the world.