Wang Lijun
In February 2012, former Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun made an abrupt and unexpected visit to the United States consulate in the city of Chengdu. The event set off a political storm which eventually resulted in the ouster of Chongqing party committee secretary Bo Xilai. Bo, considered a political ally of Zhou, was rumoured to be next-in-line to Zhou's powerful position of Legal and Political Committee ("Zhengfawei") Secretary, and thus the Standing Committee. Zhou had a close relationship with Bo, and he was reportedly acquainted with Wang Lijun as far back as his early days as mayor of Panjin. On Zhou's 2010 visit to Chongqing, he publicly endorsed Bo's "Red Songs" and "Strike Black" campaigns (), showing enthusiasm for the so-called "Chongqing model" unmatched by his other Standing Committee colleagues. Zhou lauded Bo's heavy-handed approach to reduce crime in the city, and praised Bo's style of state-driven, populist "mass movements" which had some characteristics of a Maoist-style political campaign. In March, the Standing Committee moved to remove Bo from his positions as a result of Bo being implicated in the Wang Lijun scandal, a decision which Zhou alone was said to have resisted.