He rose through the ranks of the party to become First Party Secretary of Gansu Province, and later Minister of Organization of CCP. Song was in charge of senior cadres' recommendation, candidacy and promotion.[citation needed]
As a member of more conservative faction within the party, Song stepped down as a member of the Politburo Standing Committee along with another conservative faction member Yao Yilin on 19 October 1992 after 14th Party Congress as a result of Deng Xiaoping's action to put more reformists into PSC.[6]