Xu Jie was born in Xinghua, Jiangsu Province, in October 1963. He began his education at Wuxi Technical School, studying watch manufacturing from 1979 to 1982. After graduation, he worked at the Wuxi Watch General Factory, where he held various youth leadership positions.[2]
From 1986 to 1990, he worked with the Communist Youth League at Wuxi Watch Factory and Wuxi Household Appliances Corporation, serving successively as Deputy Secretary and Secretary. During this period, he pursued part-time studies in the secretarial program at Wuxi Radio and TV University. In January 1990, Xu was transferred to the Wuxi Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), where he served in roles including Secretary, Deputy Section Chief, and Section Chief. He became Director of the General Affairs Division in 1995 and was promoted to deputy director of the Committee Office in 1996. While serving in these roles, he pursued further studies in economics and management via the CCP's Central Party School correspondence program.[3]
In 2001, Xu was appointed Deputy Secretary-General of the Wuxi Municipal Committee and Director of the Committee Office. Between 2003 and 2004, he studied political economy at the Jiangsu Provincial Party School. He then served as Secretary-General of the Wuxi Municipal Committee and, starting in 2005, as a Standing Committee member of the Wuxi Municipal Committee.[2][4]
Xu also held the position of CCP Committee Secretary of Xishan District from 2006 to 2008, and later became Vice Mayor of Wuxi and Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Government Party Group from 2008 to 2012. He earned a Master's in Business Administration from China Europe International Business School during this period. In 2012, Xu was appointed Director and Party Secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Bureau of Statistics. He was later promoted to Deputy Secretary-General of the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government in 2014.[5]
He returned to Wuxi in 2016 as Deputy Party Secretary with full municipal rank and concurrently served as Party Secretary of Liangxi District. He also acted as President of the Wuxi Party School and Wuxi Administrative College. From 2018 to 2021, he held additional responsibilities in political and legal affairs. In 2021, he was named Deputy Party Secretary of the Standing Committee of the Wuxi Municipal People's Congress and was appointed Executive Vice Chairman in March 2022.[6][1]