國民政府軍事委員會
After being elected an Alternate Member of the 8th Central Committee in 1956, Xu Shiyou served in the Politburo of the 9th, 10th and 11th CCP Central Committees (1969–82). He was a Vice Minister of National Defense (1959–70) and a member of the National Defense Council (1965–75). From 1980, he was also a member of the Military Affairs Commission. In September 1982, Xu became the only military officer named a founding Vice Chairmen of the Central Advisory Commission.