 From 1916 to 1921, he was secretary to the French embassy in Peking.In 1921 in Washington, DC, while taking part in a world disarmament conference, he was noticed by Aristide Briand, Prime Minister of France, who recruited him as his assistant.In Paris, he got to know the fellow intellectual poet Larbaud, who used his influence to get the poem "Anabase" published, written during Leger's stay in China.