Wang was widely criticized by Uighurs and foreign scholars of Xinjiang for his hard-liner policies. After the 2009 July riot in Ürümqi, Han Chinese also became frustrated with his leadership because of the slow progress in restoring social order. As a result, many individuals began to call for his resignation in public demonstrations. He was removed from the post in April 2010, and transferred to work on the Central Committee's Political and Legal Affairs Committee as a Deputy Secretary under Zhou Yongkang. He was replaced by Zhang Chunxian. Wang remained in the Political and Legal Affairs Committee until the 18th Party Congress when he retired from active politics. In November 2013 Wang became the president of the China Law Society.