With R and F falling to a surprising 4-0 defeat at Henan Jianye, SIPG took full advantage and cut the gap to the AFC Champions League spots.
Tobias Hysen's 14th goal of the season put them ahead after just 15 minutes, however the game appeared to be drifting towards a draw with Eninho having levelled from the penalty spot a minute before the half-hour.
The points were secured by Zhikang Xi's men with 12 minutes to play as Lei Wu struck his ninth time league goal of the campaign.
Henan's victory over R and F was the shock of the weekend, as the hosts climbed out of the relegation zone with a stunning win over Sven-Goran Eriksson's Champions League chasers.
Two goals in either from Lu Zhang and Rafael Marques secured the 4-0 victory and give Henan their first win in six matches.
Like SIPG, CSL leaders Guangzhou Evergrande were also grateful to a late winner as they came from a goal behind to beat Tianjin Teda 2-1.
Carmelo Valencia put Tianjin ahead in the 56th minute but Yu Hanchao and Lu Jian secured another victory for Marcello Lippi's men, with Lu's winner coming in the final minute.
An Erton Fejzullahu double ensured Beijing Guoan kept the pressure up on the leaders, their 2-1 win over Guizhou Renhe keeping the gap at the top at seven points.
Henan were the only side in the bottom for to win as Shanghai Shenhua beat Dalian Aerbin 1-0, Shanghai Shenxin's beat Harbin Yiteng by the same scoreline and Liaoning Whowin also fell to a late defeat and replaced Henan in the bottom two.
Having held out for 85 minutes Liaoning's defence was finally breached by Roda Antar and Xi Wu completed the 2-0 win.
Meanwhile, Hangzhou's 4-1 victory over Shandong Luneng came courtesy of Anselmo Ramon and Gilberto Macena, both men scoring twice to take all three points.