World champions Sui Wenjing and Han Cong will not take part in the International Skating Union (ISU) Figure Skating Grand Prix Cup of China, which begins on November 6 in southwest China's Chongqing, the Chinese team confirmed on Thursday.

Han is in recovery from a hip joint surgery he underwent in April.

"We had planned to come back at the Four Continents Championships. But as the Cup of China will be held on home soil, we thought for a while of the possibility of competing in Chongqing. However, we finally decided not to be in a hurry," said Han.

Fellow Chinese teammates Peng Cheng/Jin Yang, Jin Boyang and Wang Shiyue/Liu Xinyu will perform in Chongqing next week as their season debut.

"Although the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on our training plans, generally speaking, everything is going smoothly," said Zhao Hongbo, the head coach of the Chinese figure skating team.

"The Cup of China is like an exam and I hope all the skaters can show their best on the rink," Zhao added.

Scheduled behind closed doors due to the pandemic, the Cup of China was supposed to be the third stop of the Grand Prix series, following Skate America and Skate Canada.

Lin Shan of China finished sixth in the ladies' program during Skate America, which was held at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas between October 23 and 24.

Skate Canada was cancelled on October 14.

(With input from Xinhua)