 After the tournament the Chinese manager Bora Milutinović decided to hand An Qi his senior debut in a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago on August 5, 2001 where he came on as a substitute for Jiang Jin in a 3-0 victory.After the friendly Bora Milutinović gave An Qi his competitive debut against Uzbekistan in a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification game on September 15, 2001 that China won 2-0.After several further appearances Bora Milutinović decided to include him in the Chinese national squad that played during the 2002 FIFA World Cup.