In August 2002, he was transferred again to North West China's Ningxia Autonomous Region, where he became its deputy secretary-general, party boss and head of its Provincial State Security Agency, and was re-elected in March 2005. He also served as Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee from December 2006 to May 2013, and he was a member of its CPC Standing Committee between June 2007 to May 2013.