Career
In November 1964 Zhou joined the CPC and joined geological survey work in north-east China in 1966 after the Cultural Revolution broke out.
During the 1960s and 70s he spent most of his career in the petroleum industry.
During his tenure as Minister of Public Security, he was a reformer of China's policing system, aiming to create a more professional police force, even going as far as to fire several hundred police officers for drinking problems. His time in Sichuan and as Public Security Minister made him noticed by the party's central authority, and in 2007 he was transferred to fill the vacancy from Luo Gan, who retired in the party's political and legislative affairs committee, and was responsible for China’s courts, police, paramilitary and various domestic state security and spying agencies.
Several leaked U.S. diplomatic cables from Wikileaks have alleged Zhou's involvement in Beijing's cyber attack against Google, though the claim's veracity has been questioned.
In May 2012 the Financial Times reported that Zhou had relinquished the operational control of the party's Political and Legal Affairs Commission to Minister of Public Security Meng Jianzhu due to his support for former Chinese politician Bo Xilai, and had lost his right to select his successor when he retires from the Politburo Standing Committee in fall 2012.
