North Sea Fleet
Qiu was appointed deputy chief of staff of the East Sea Fleet in 2009, and attained the rank of rear admiral a year later. In December 2013, he succeeded Tian Zhong as commander of the North Sea Fleet as well as Deputy Commander of the Jinan Military Region. Less than a year later, Qiu was appointed Chief of Staff of the PLA Navy, succeeding Du Jingchen. Yuan Yubai replaced him as commander of the North Sea Fleet. In July 2015, Qiu was promoted to the rank of vice-admiral, together with Yuan Yubai.