Mr. Xu graduated from Harbin Institute of Technology (thermal engineering) and Tsinghua University (environmental engineering), with an on-the-job postgraduate degree and a master's degree in engineering.

From 2003 to 2011, Mr. Xu worked as the Research Fellow at the Energy Research Institute (ERI), NDRC, Head of the Center for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Studies, as well as Assistant to the Director-General of ERI; from December 2011 to January 2018, he acted as the Deputy Director-General of NCSC; and served as the Director-General of NCSC in January 2018.His main research areas are energy, environment and climate change strategies and policies. He has chaired and completed major projects such as the“China's Greenhouse Gas Control Targets by 2020, Pathways and Supporting Systems”under the “National Key Basic R&D Program”of MOST as the Chief Scientist, and was awarded the 2007 ;NOBEL PEACE PRIZE by the IPCC. Since 2000, he has participated in the negotiations and expert group of the Chinese government's climate change negotiation delegation.