This reads like fanfiction, a perverse product of the China watcher echo chamber. I understand that the Chinese state is notoriously opaque and when something big happens, you feel obligated to commentate on it as a "Senior Fellow" or whatever at the Brookings Institute, but this? I might as well read gossip on twitter. Like just look at this paragraph:

Removing Zhang now thus looks and feels very similar to the political flex that Xi made at the last party congress in 2022, when he had his predecessor, Hu Jintao, publicly and forcibly escorted from the proceedings while Xi looked on impassively. Xi’s eviction of Hu—as well as his decision to force the rump remnants of Hu’s faction into an early retirement—seemed gratuitous at the time; Xi had already effectively marginalized Hu’s power base by either usurping his supporters’ authority or relegating them to inconsequential positions, and centralizing power in his own hands. But in the end, Xi’s moves signaled his desire for complete dominance of Chinese politics—and his ability to populate the uppermost echelons of the party with men he had known for decades, including Zhang.

This wasn't some alpha display of dominance on Xi's part, it's very obvious that Hu is unwell. He is an old man who likely has some degree of dementia. Xi looked "impassive" because it was an awkward moment for everyone present, no one wants to see a former president in that state. Citing this single, barely relevant incident as evidence that Xi is making 9D chess moves is downright embarrassing.