 Xu made his debut for the Chinese national team on 25 May 2000 in a 2-0 loss against Yugoslavia.Under then manager Bora Milutinović, Xu's international career flourished by keeping previous right back Sun Jihai out of the national team during the 2000 AFC Asian Cup.However, he was forced out of action due to illness and Sun regained his place within the team; nevertheless, his performances were still good enough to be called up the squad that participated in the 2002 FIFA World Cup.