China's men's ice hockey team will not be kicked out of their home Winter Olympics at Beijing 2022, the sport's governing body said, having threatened exclusion over the hosts' "insufficient sporting standard".

China have an automatic place at February's Games as hosts, but there are fears that they could face embarrassment with matches in their group against NHL-packed rosters from the United States and Canada.

Speaking to AFP in September, Luc Tardif, the new president of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), said: "Watching a team being beaten 15-0 is not good for anyone, not for China or for ice hockey."

But following a three-day IIHF Council meeting in Zurich, Tardif said in a press release: "To be clear, the IIHF is not going to remove the Chinese team from the Olympic Games.

The Beijing Winter Olympics is less than 100 days away
The Beijing Winter Olympics is less than 100 days away AFP / Noel Celis

"The status of the men's national team as a host nation participant in the Olympic ice hockey tournament was confirmed by (IIHF) Congress and remains unchanged."

The IIHF said that it was working with China's ice hockey association to arrange two games "in a joint effort to evaluate the status of the team's preparations".

China's men, who will also face fifth-ranked Germany at the Games, are 32nd the world rankings.

The Beijing Winter Olympics begin on February 4, 2022.