[5] Xu had close relationships with several high-ranking government officials and their families, especially the former Politburo member Bo Xilai.

[7] Xu Ming was born in Dalian, Liaoning Province, Northeast China.

Only a year later, he quit his stable government job to establish several construction companies, which were awarded contracts for the earthwork projects of Shengli Square in front of the Dalian Railway Station and Xinghai Square, also in Dalian.

In December 1998, Shide became the first company in China to receive the ISO 9002 quality control certification.

[8] Xu Ming was well known as the owner and chairman of Dalian Shide F.C., formerly China's top football club which dominated the Chinese Jia-A League in the 2000s.

In the late 1990s, he befriended Zhang Peili, the wife of Wen Jiabao, who was then a vice premier.

Xu's football club was shut down in 2012 after the merger talk with a rival team collapsed.

In a trial closed to the public, Xu Ming was sentenced to four years in prison, effective from 2012.

[7][11] Some analysts raised suspicions with the manner of his death and the speed of cremation, although there was no evidence suggesting foul play.