Xia began his studies in September 1983 at Huaiyin Finance and Economics School, majoring in Enterprise Finance, and graduated in July 1985. After graduation, he worked briefly as a price inspector in Hongze County before transitioning to the county government office, where he served in roles including Secretary, Deputy Section Chief, and Section Chief. From 1990 to 1991, he held concurrent roles as deputy director of the Hongze County Economic Reform Office and deputy director of the County Government Office. He moved to Huaiyin in 1991, where he became the Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary and later took on leadership roles in the city government office.[2]
In 1996, Xia was appointed deputy director of the Huaiyin Municipal Government Office. He continued his education during this time, studying Economic Management at the Central Party School from 1994 to 1996. In June 1998, he was promoted to Deputy Secretary-General of the Huaiyin Municipal Party Committee and concurrently served as deputy director of the Party Committee Office. In November 1999, he became Deputy Party Secretary and Acting County Head of Huaiyin County, officially assuming the role of County Head in 2000. That same year, he attended a management training program in the United States as part of a provincial senior management development initiative.[3][4]
In February 2001, Xia was appointed Deputy Party Secretary and District Head of Huaiyin District, Huai’an City. In July 2003, he was promoted to District Party Secretary. From 2001 to 2004, he studied in an on-the-job MBA program at the School of Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Science and Technology.[5]
He served as Party Secretary of Chuzhou District from 2005 to 2006 before being promoted to deputy director of the Jiangsu Provincial Bureau of Statistics in December 2006. In 2014, he became Director and Party Secretary of the bureau.[6]
In 2016, Xia was appointed Deputy Secretary-General of the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government. In 2018, he was transferred to Yangzhou, where he served as Deputy Party Secretary and Acting Mayor.[7] He became Mayor in early 2019 and was appointed Party Secretary of Yangzhou in December that year. In January 2020, he concurrently served as Director of the Standing Committee of the Yangzhou Municipal People's Congress.[8]
In June 2021, Xia was promoted to Nanjing as Deputy Party Secretary, Party Secretary of the municipal government, and Acting Mayor.[9] He concurrently headed the Jiangbei New Area Administrative Committee.[10] He was confirmed as Mayor in April 2022 and served in this role until January 2023.[11]
In January 2023, he was appointed Vice Governor of Jiangsu Province.[12] In January 2025, he became Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Jiangsu Provincial People's Congress, a post he officially assumed in March 2025.[13]
Xia Xinmin is a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress and has served as a representative in the 13th and 14th Jiangsu Provincial People's Congress. He is also a member of the 14th Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee and serves as President of the 10th Council of the Jiangsu Red Cross Society.[14]