On December 17, 1949, the Xinjiang Provincial People's Government was established and Burhan became the chairman.
 Saifuddin Azizi was the deputy chairman.
 He joined the Chinese Communist Party at the end of the year.
 In 1952, he headed the preparatory committee to create the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).
 In 1955, Azizi became the first chairman of the XUAR, and Burhan's role in the Xinjiang government lessened.

Burhan was a co-founder and the first chairman of the Islamic Association of China.
In this capacity, he became an able diplomat in the PRC's outreach to the Islamic world.
 In February 1956, he led a cultural and religious delegation on a tour of Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Syria and Lebanon.
 As a direct result of his diplomatic work, Egypt under President Gamal Abdel Nasser in May 1956 became the first country in Middle East to recognize the PRC and sever ties with the Republic of China on Taiwan.
It was the first country to recognize Beijing in six years and the recognition broke the diplomatic blockade imposed by the West.
 In July, he returned to the region leading China's hajj mission to Saudi Arabia, where he met King Saud and visited King Hussein of Jordan, though neither country had diplomatic relations with the PRC.
 On the same trip, he also met with President Nazim al-Kudsi of Syria and Amir Muhammad al-Badr of North Yemen.
 Both countries switched their recognition to the PRC in 1956.

On November 4, 1956, Burhan and Hu Yaobang, Guo Moruo helped lead a massive public rally and parade in Beijing with over 400,000 people in Tiananmen Square to support Egypt and denounce Anglo-French imperialism in the Suez Crisis.
 In the spring of 1959, he led a delegation to Iraq to support Prime Minister Abd al-Karim Qasim who had overthrown the Iraqi monarchy the previous year and founded a pro-socialist republic.

Burhan supervised Chinese Muslim participation in the hajj until the Cultural Revolution, when he was accused of being a collaborator and a foreigner, and imprisoned for eight years.
 Afterwards, he was rehabilitated and served as a vice-chairman of the second, third, fifth, sixth and seventh Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee.
 His memoir, Fifty Years in Xinjiang was published in 1984.

In 1985, to support the return of the critically endangered Père David's deer to China, Burhan helped found and chair the China Milu Foundation, now known as the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation.

He died in 1989 and is buried in the foothills of the Tian Shan in Xinjiang.
On December 17, 1949, the Xinjiang Provincial People's Government was established and Burhan became the chairman.  Saifuddin Azizi was the deputy chairman.  He joined the Chinese Communist Party at the end of the year.  In 1952, he headed the preparatory committee to create the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).  In 1955, Azizi became the first chairman of the XUAR, and Burhan's role in the Xinjiang government lessened.
Burhan was a co-founder and the first chairman of the Islamic Association of China. In this capacity, he became an able diplomat in the PRC's outreach to the Islamic world.  In February 1956, he led a cultural and religious delegation on a tour of Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Syria and Lebanon.  As a direct result of his diplomatic work, Egypt under President Gamal Abdel Nasser in May 1956 became the first country in Middle East to recognize the PRC and sever ties with the Republic of China on Taiwan. It was the first country to recognize Beijing in six years and the recognition broke the diplomatic blockade imposed by the West.  In July, he returned to the region leading China's hajj mission to Saudi Arabia, where he met King Saud and visited King Hussein of Jordan, though neither country had diplomatic relations with the PRC.  On the same trip, he also met with President Nazim al-Kudsi of Syria and Amir Muhammad al-Badr of North Yemen.  Both countries switched their recognition to the PRC in 1956.
On November 4, 1956, Burhan and Hu Yaobang, Guo Moruo helped lead a massive public rally and parade in Beijing with over 400,000 people in Tiananmen Square to support Egypt and denounce Anglo-French imperialism in the Suez Crisis.  In the spring of 1959, he led a delegation to Iraq to support Prime Minister Abd al-Karim Qasim who had overthrown the Iraqi monarchy the previous year and founded a pro-socialist republic.
Burhan supervised Chinese Muslim participation in the hajj until the Cultural Revolution, when he was accused of being a collaborator and a foreigner, and imprisoned for eight years.  Afterwards, he was rehabilitated and served as a vice-chairman of the second, third, fifth, sixth and seventh Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee.  His memoir, Fifty Years in Xinjiang was published in 1984.
In 1985, to support the return of the critically endangered Père David's deer to China, Burhan helped found and chair the China Milu Foundation, now known as the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation.
He died in 1989 and is buried in the foothills of the Tian Shan in Xinjiang.
Burhan Shahidi