Xu was born in
Rudong County,
Jiangsu. He joined the
Chinese Communist Party in October 1973, and is an alumnus of
Southeast University, though it is not clear when he graduated. He was transferred from Jiangsu to
Gansu in September 2001 when he was appointed to head the Gansu provincial organization department. In January 2003 he was named executive vice governor of Gansu. He died of illness in
Nanjing on December 5, 2020. ==References==