[1] He was a member of the 10th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and a member of the Standing Committee of the 10th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
[3][4][1][5] In 1960, he enrolled at the PLA Surveying and Mapping Institute, where he majored in wireless.
[4][1][5] He was promoted to mayor in May 1986, in addition to serving as deputy party secretary.
[3][4][1][5] In 1999, Xu was transferred to the neighbouring Anhui province, where he was appointed deputy party secretary in December 1999 and governor in January 2000.
[3][4][1][5] He took up the post of chairperson of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference which he held only from February 2003 to January 2008, although he remained deputy party secretary until April 2003.