The changes for Contenders China 2019 have been announced on Weibo.

There will continue to be 12 teams competing in Contenders China just as there has been throughout 2018. The top eight from Contenders 2018 Season 3 China will be automatically invited to the first season of 2019. Additionally, the academy teams of all three Chinese expansion franchises to the Overwatch League have been invited.

As a result, only one team will advance from Trials into the first season of Contenders China 2019.

This differs from the rest of the Contenders regions in 2019, where they will be only eight teams per region. While North America will have 16 total teams competing, they will be split into two eight-team regions.

No other changes differing from the other regions were announced. Should the other parts of the Chinese Contenders ruleset mirror that of the rest of the world's, then Contenders China will be subject to a soft-region lock, will have two seasons in 2019 and will have top-heavy prizing.

Thanks to sgbros1 for translations.