Peter Jennings Strategy Consultants' Peter Jennings says this will probably be a "rocky period" for Xi Jinping and the Chinese government as the country faces a rise in COVID cases after abandoning its zero-COVID approach.

"I think what's going to happen from here is inevitably, large numbers of Chinese people are going to be infected with COVID and a significant percentage of them will regrettably pass away," Mr Jennings told Sky News host Chris Kenny.

"Because China has not been successful in rolling ... an anti-viral strategy across the county because they've concentrated on lockdowns."