On 29 June 2010, she was elected to fill the vacancy created by Shi Jiuyong's resignation on 28 May 2010.

[2][3] On the 6 February 2018, Xue was elected Vice President of the International Court of Justice for a three-year term.

[5] From 1980 to 2003, Xue served in the Department of Treaty and Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, eventually rising to the position of Director-General.

She returned to Columbia Law School in 1991 and obtained a Doctor of Juridical Science in 1995.

On 6 February 2018, Xue was elected Vice President of the International Court of Justice for a three-year term.