For nearly ten years, between 2007 and 2016, Xu was the chairman of Baosteel Group.
He is currently serving as deputy head of the United Front Work Department and the Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary and executive vice chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (minister-level).
[citation needed] In January 2007, Xu was named Chairman of Baosteel Group, a Global Fortune 500 company based in Shanghai, China.
In May 2017, Xu was named deputy head of the United Front Work Department, and the Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary and executive vice chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce.
[1] Xu was an alternate member of the 17th and the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, and a member of the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.