Wu was born in 1949 in eastern Jiangsu Province.[1] His first job was at a textiles factory in his hometown. He then became a high school teacher. He later successively served in government posts in his native Jiangyin, then the Mayor of Wuxi, then he was transferred to Jiangxi province to serve as the Party Secretary of Nanchang.[2] He was first appointed the Governor of Jiangxi by the Jiangxi Provincial People's Congress in January 2007.[1] He was subsequently re-elected by the legislature on January 28, 2008.[1]
The Governor of Jiangxi is the second highest-ranking official in Jiangxi after the Party Secretary of the Jiangxi.[1] The Governor is responsible for all matters related to personnel, the environment, economics, politics and foreign policy relating to Jiangxi.[1]
Wu took over from Liu Tienan in March 2013 as director of the National Energy Administration. Liu was disgraced from a corruption scandal. Wu reached retirement age in 2014 and left office as head of the NEA in December.[2]
