CHONGQING, China - World champions Sui Wenjing and Han Cong will not take part in the ISU Figure Skating Grand Prix Cup of China, which begins on Nov 6 in Chongqing, the Chinese team confirmed on Thursday.

Han is recovering from his hip joint surgery which he had in April.

"We had planned to come back at the Four Continents Championships. But as the Cup of China is to be held on home soil, we thought for a while the possibility of competing at 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 goes 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.

The Cup of China, the third stop of the Grand Prix series, will be held behind closed doors.