He also served as the main official in charge of internet policy, the head of the Cyberspace Administration of China, from June 2016 to July 2018.

[1] Xu was previously the head of the Shanghai propaganda department and later Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary of Pudong.

He was graduated from Shanghai Normal University and joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in September 1982.

[3] Xu returned to Shanghai in 1997, and served as the general manager of Nong Gong Shang Group (农工商集团).

[1] Xu is regarded as a political ally of Xi Jinping, the current General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and paramount leader,[1] and dubbed a "political star" by the 21st Century Business Herald (21世纪经济报道).