Major honours
China built a world-class program in pairs. Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo overcame multiple serious injuries and, after four World Championship titles, won Olympic gold at Vancouver 2010, becoming China's first-ever figure skating Olympic champions. Following them, Sui Wenjing and Han Cong took silver at Pyeongchang 2018 before winning gold at the Beijing 2022 home Olympics, one of the Chinese team's most symbolic achievements on home soil. That success drove large-scale investment in a national pairs training program, and the northeast, centered on Harbin, has established itself as the sport's domestic hub. China has not yet produced a world champion in singles, but in pairs it has held a place at the world's top tier since Russia's absence.
Record comparison
Bars are scaled to the strongest team in this list.
Club legends
Rivalry
Since Russia's exclusion from international competition, China, Japan and Canada's pairs teams have formed the competing group contesting the world's top spot.