Meng Jianzhu expected to be made security tsar at national congress

Public Security Minister Meng Jianzhu, widely tipped to succeed iron-fisted security tsar Zhou Yongkang at the Communist Party's 18th national congress, is likely to focus on professional policing rather than political campaigns, analysts say.

Professor Mao Shoulong, from Renmin University's school of public administration and policy, said Meng, a suave, 65-year-old State Councillor, will formally replace Zhou as secretary of the party's Political and Legal Affairs Commission at the congress.

"Meng will certainly take over Zhou's position because he is now Zhou's deputy on the commission," Mao said.

"The future role Meng will play and his political status in the top leadership will not be downgraded because maintaining the stability of our country remains the Chinese leadership's core goal."

Meng's role in reinforcing security ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and nationwide celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic the following year earned him enough political capital to guarantee promotion, Mao said.

As the mainland's police chief, he has also pledged to maintain public order in the capital ahead of the party congress, which will start on November 8.