Zhang was appointed a member of the decision-making Politburo Standing Committee at the 18th Party National Congress held in November 2012 and also became the top official responsible for Hong Kong and Macau affairs. A few days later, he was replaced by Sun Zhengcai as party secretary of Chongqing. In March 2013, he was elected Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, replacing Wu Bangguo, who retired. On 24 January 2014, the Politburo of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee announced Zhang's appointment as Vice-Chairman of the National Security Commission under general secretary Xi Jinping.