Petrescu, who previously worked in China as head coach of Jiangsu Suning, replaces Spaniard Gregorio Manzano, the club announced on Thursday.
Guizhou are currently bottom of the Chinese Super League standings with four points having picked up just one win in the first 11 games of the season.
The Chinese Super League is taking a two-month break during the World Cup finals in Russia and will resume on July 17, with Petrescu's first game scheduled one day later against defending champions Guangzhou Evergrande.
Capped 95 times by Romania between 1989 and 2000, the 50-year-old Petrescu has coached in six countries.
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Last month he led CFR Cluj to the Romanian league title in his first season in charge. [nL5N1SR0LF]
(Reporting by Michael Church; additional reporting by Angel Krasimirov; editing by Jason Neely)
