Host Japan claimed the bronze medal in artistic swimming's acrobatic routine at the world championships on Monday.
China won with 238.0033 points, 5.6 ahead of the second-place United States, in the fairly new event that saw one male artistic swimmer on each medal-winning eight-person team at Marine Messe Fukuoka.
Japan was 17.4166 behind China and picked up its fourth artistic swimming medal of this meet, following three gold medals.
Last December, swimming's governing body World Aquatics said that men will be allowed to compete in Olympic artistic swimming at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.
Since the sport, formerly known as synchronized swimming, was added in 1984 to the Olympic program in Los Angeles, only women had been allowed to compete.
In 2015, the world championships introduced the mixed duet event.
The new rules will permit up to two men to take part in each eight-person team at the Olympics. Allowing male contestants to compete is expected to pave the way for more physically demanding moves.