China’s state-run media has recently been hinting that Zhou and Bo Xilai, the former Chongqing Party secretary convicted of corruption last year, were plotting together to seize power.

A government-controlled Chinese newspaper linked Zhou Yongkang to a corruption probe for the first time, signaling that an official announcement of an investigation into the ex-security chief may ...

Instead, over the long course of the two men’s relationship, he repeatedly criticized and demeaned Zhou, keeping him in a constant state of uncertainty and insecurity. As Zhou learned “how ...