China adds science funding for young global talents as Trump cuts U.S. research budget

Chinese universities jump at a "newly-added round" of funding at China's NSF to encourage "more" leading scientists under 40 to move to the East.

The government-run National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) has just opened an extra batch of funding opportunities wooing scientists from outside China with PhD degrees under the age of 40, as the Trump administration slashed federal funding for science and technology research, including to the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF).

The NSFC said on July 30, 2025 that

为进一步完善科学基金人才资助体系，充分发挥科学基金引进和培养人才的功能，吸引更多海外优秀青年人才回国（来华）工作，国家自然科学基金委员会（以下简称自然科学基金委）现启动2025年新增批次优秀青年科学基金项目（海外）申报工作。

To further improve the talent funding system of the NSFC , fully leverage its role in attracting and nurturing talent, and encourage more outstanding young talents from overseas to return to (or come to) China for work, the National Natural Science Foundation of China is now launching the application process for the newly added round of the Excellent Young Scientists Fund (Overseas) in 2025.

The advertisement says applicants should be born after January 1, 1985, hold PhD degrees, and primarily conduct research in natural science, technology, and engineering. They should have 36 consecutive months of formal working experience outside China in well-known universities, research institutions, and research departments within companies after their PhD and before September 15, 2025, with shortened working experience requirements for exceptional applicants.

They should “have achieved scientific or technological outcomes recognized by peers in the field, and demonstrate the potential to become an academic leader or outstanding talent in the discipline,” according to the notice.

NSFC funding for successful candidates totals between one million yuan ($140,000) and three million yuan ($418,000) over three years.

The NSFC launched its program targeting scientists based outside China in 2021. Since then, it usually opens up funding opportunities in the early months of the year, except April 2023, when it opened up for an extra week to “mitigate the impact brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

After a routine announcement in February 2025, the NSFC made clear on July 30 that the opening-up last week is a “newly added round” (新增批次) to attract “more” (更多) scientists from outside China. However, the exact amount of new funding hasn’t been disclosed.

Applicants submit through a host Chinese institution, typically a university or a research institution registered in NSFC’s system. After two levels of reviews, funding is dispersed to the scientists via the host institution, adding to the latter’s research budget.

Many Chinese universities have jumped on the announcement, almost simultaneously inviting overseas scientists to apply for the new funding through them. An incomplete list of Chinese universities making public invitations includes Peking University, Renmin University of China, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jilin University, etc.

China has long suffered what is often called a “brain drain” of scientific and technical talent, as a very high proportion of China‑born PhD graduates in U.S. universities choose to remain in the U.S.

A 2023 survey by the U.S. National Science Foundation found that 83% of China-born PhD recipients in science and technology who got their degrees in America between 2017 and 2019 remained in the United States approximately 5 years after graduation. The number is “significantly higher than the average across all countries of origin,” says the NSF report.

The Chinese government has launched various campaigns to attract science and technology talent, including those with no Chinese heritage, to come to China.

Funded scientists in the NSFC program must resign from their overseas jobs and work full-time in China, addressing concerns from suspicious observers who claim that holding two simultaneous jobs across the Pacific often means China is stealing from America.

The new round of funding also comes at a time of dramatic cuts to science research funding in the U.S., which many claim will help China attract global talent.

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