He supervised the transformation of Shanghai during his administration into a center for international investment and trade that helped lead the intensive development of China's economy.

He studied in Britain in 1982 and 1983 and worked in Sweden from 1984 to 1985; he also won a national award for his design of a stainless steel pipe for use in aircraft production.

Xu was replaced by Executive Vice-Mayor Chen Liangyu, one of Jiang's associates who was later convicted on charges of corruption.

[citation needed] In 2004 Xu was elected as an International Fellow[3] of the UK Royal Academy of Engineering.

[4] On June 28, 2011, Xu received an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from the City University of Hong Kong.