Chen started the 2017–2018 season by winning the 2017 CS U.S. International Figure Skating Classic in September, debuting his short program "Nemesis" choreographed by Shae-Lynn Bourne and free skate "Mao's Last Dancer" choreographed by Lori Nichol. He landed his first quad loop in the free skate and became the first skater to land five different quads (4T, 4S, 4Lo, 4F and 4Lz) in competition. He was selected to represent Team USA alongside Jeremy Abbott, Karen Chen, and Mirai Nagasu at the Japan Open. There, his free program earned second place behind Javier Fernandez.