North Sea Fleet
Ding was appointed chief of staff of the North Sea Fleet in January 1995 and deputy commander in December 1997. In December 2000, he was promoted to Commander of the North Sea Fleet and concurrently Deputy Commander of the Jinan Military Region. He was promoted to the rank of vice-admiral in July 2002. He was elected as an alternate member of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in 2002, and re-elected as an alternate member of the 17th Central Committee in 2007.