But Zhi moved from the right side of midfield to just behind Darren Bent in the second half, scored a goal and was brought down by Nobby Solano to give Jerome Thomas a late penalty to seal the three points for the Addicks.
"He has suggested in his little cameos for us that there was something in there," Pardew said.
"We've taken a long time to integrate him and we're feeling the benefits of that. He's a good player who's finding his feet very quickly in the Premiership.
"He's not the type to pull out of a tackle, but his technical ability is his biggest asset.
"We did toy with playing him at left-back today, which suggests he can operate just about anywhere, but I think his best position is in and around the striker where he played in the second half."