He was a professor at the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology.
[2] He graduated from the Chemistry Department of Fudan University in 1957, and joined the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry afterwards, where he participated in and made significant contributions to the insulin synthesis project led by Wang Yinglai.
[1] Xu published more than 100 research papers in academic journals.
He was a two-time winner of the State Natural Science Award (first class), in addition to several national prizes by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
[1][2] Xu died on 8 January 2008 at Zhongshan Hospital in Shanghai, at the age of 72.