In the 2012 outdoor season, he defended his Chinese junior title. A debut on the IAAF Diamond League circuit came shortly after and he managed to finish seventh at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix meet. He had an outright personal best at the Chinese Athletics Grand Prix meeting in his home province in Zibo, winning with a mark of . He became the continental champion at the 2012 Asian Junior Athletics Championships with a championship record height. In spite of this success, he failed to register a valid mark at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics. At the end of the season, he equalled his best to place third at the Chinese Championships, behind Yang and Xue Changrui.