In April 1927, when Chen went to Wuhan to attend the 5th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Central Committee appointed him to take over the post of secretary of the CPC Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provincial Committee and was welected an alternate member of the Political Bureau of the 5th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. On his way to Shanghai, the Shanghai massacre broke out. In June 1927, the Central Committee abolished the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provincial Committee and established Jiangsu Provincial Committee and Zhejiang Provincial Committee respectively. Chen was appointed secretary of the CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee. On June 26, he was arrested by the Kuomintang police. On the evening of 4 July 1927, he was hacked to death by the Kuomintang police.