Yee, 26, finished 46 seconds ahead of Leo Bergere of France and Miguel Hidalgo of Brazil. Yee crossed the finish line in one hour, 48 minutes, and 21 seconds.
Potter, who took home the bronze in Paris 2024, trailed Germany’s Lisa Tertsch by 17 seconds, with fellow Britons Kate Waugh and Georgia Taylor-Brown placing third and fifth, respectively.
Before the championship final next month, Yee leads all men’s rankings, while Olympic champion Cassandre Beaugrand is second among women’s champion Potter.
Olympic silver medallist Hayden Wilde of New Zealand finished sixth in the inaugural race contested in Weihai, with Yee, the 2022 championship runner-up, leading from start to finish.
Harry Leleu (30th), Connor Bentley (17th), and Max Stapley (11th) were all ahead of Jack Willis (ninth).
Potter was unable to catch up as Tertsch, who finished 41 seconds ahead of his British teammate Taylor-Brown, led the entire way and won in 02:04:42.
Waugh came over the finish after German Tanja Neubert, with Sian Rainsley coming in 20th.
The World Triathlon Championship Series Final will be held October 17–20 in Torremolinos, Andalucia, Spain.
