Professor Xu is a professor at Nanjing University, as well as the Founder and Director of the Diane and Guilford Glazer Institute for Jewish and Israel Studies at Nanjing University in Nanjing, China. He is a much recognized scholar, author, and speaker, and was awarded an honorary doctorate by Bar Ilan University in recognition of the extremely important work he has done on research related to the history and current Jewish life in China.