Xi Jinping’s entrenched control over the Chinese Communist Party and People’s Liberation Army underpins the 96.3% trader consensus against removal before the end of 2026. Ongoing high-level purges of military and civilian officials, including recent investigations into senior figures, have reinforced centralized authority rather than weakening it, while diplomatic engagements such as the September 2026 BRICS summit demonstrate continued active leadership. No public signals point to resignation or internal challenge ahead of the 2027 Party Congress, where a fourth term remains the expected outcome. Institutional barriers, including the absence of term limits or designated successors, further limit realistic pathways to ouster. Health events or abrupt elite fractures represent the narrow scenarios that could still shift probabilities.