China has previously held seven Diving World Cups, 14 Diving World Series and 13 Diving Grand Prix events, and diving featured in the programme at the World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai in 2011.

The country has emerged as the dominant force in diving, topping the medals table at every Olympic Games since Seoul 1988 and winning all 13 gold medals at last year's World Championships in Budapest.

However, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2019 and China's tough restrictions led to almost all sporting events due to be held there being moved, postponed or cancelled in the last three years, the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing a notable exception.

Several governing bodies are now planning a return to China this year after President Xi Jinping's controversial "zero-COVID" policy was lifted, and World Aquatics intends to start this season's Diving World Cup in Xi'an from April 14 to 16.

Montreal in Canada is due to host the second event from May 5 to 7 before the Super Final in Germany's capital Berlin from August 4 to 6.

Results from the first two stops are set to serve as qualifiers for the Super Final, featuring the top 18 individual athletes and the top eight in the synchronised and team events.

Diving is also due to feature at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, with events in the discipline scheduled for first week from July 14 to 22.

The Diving World Cup format has been adjusted to create shorter events, with the three-stop season claimed to better align with the Olympic Games, World Championships and national, regional and continental events.

Individual events are now set to follow a preliminary-to-final model, instead of the preliminary, semi-final and final three-round format previously used.

Synchronised and team events are due to be held in a straight-to-final format.

Athletes finishing on the podium in Xi'an and Montreal are set to earn $5,000 (£4,200/€4,700), $4,000 (£3,300/€3,800) and $3,000 (£2,500/€2,800) respectively, with prize money available for the top 12 individual athletes and top eight in the synchronised and team events at the Super Final.

World Aquatics President Husain Al-Musallam hailed the reforms to the diving discipline.

"Today is another incredibly exciting milestone for the sport," the Kuwaiti official said.

"By creating a World Aquatics Diving World Cup that’s open to more athletes and countries, deepening the prize pool at our top annual event series, and making it easier for organisers to hold World Aquatics events, we’ve put in place the platform for diving to reach new heights in the years to come."