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China rolls out K-visa targeting global talents as Trump tightens H‑1B access

China will officially launch its K-visa programme on October 1, 2025, a new initiative aimed at attracting global talent, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.

The programme, targeting young professionals, allows applicants to enter China without employer sponsorship and offers long-term residency, tax benefits, housing support, streamlined administrative procedures, and access to international-standard schooling for dependents.

The move comes amid sweeping changes to the US H‑1B visa programme. On September 19, 2025, US President Donald Trump announced a $100,000 fee for new H‑1B visa applications — a measure widely seen as further restricting America’s ability to attract foreign talent. While renewals and existing H‑1B holders are exempt, the announcement has sparked global concern — especially in India, the largest beneficiary of the visa.

In 2024, 283,397 Indian nationals received H‑1B approvals, representing roughly 71 percent of the total. Chinese applicants were second, with 46,680 visas, or about 11.7 percent. Other countries, including the Philippines, Canada, and South Korea, accounted for much smaller shares, each representing between 1 and 1.3 percent of approvals.

Although Beijing announced the K-visa on August 7, 2025, analysts note that the timing of the rollout — just weeks after Trump’s H-1B changes — is particularly significant.

Former Kyrgyz Prime Minister Djoomart Otorbaev calls Trump’s move “one of the most scandalous policy blunders in recent memory” and describes Beijing’s K-visa as a “masterstroke” in the battle for global talent. “The US is saying: We don’t need you. China is saying: We welcome you,” Otorbaev notes, highlighting the stark contrast in political signalling.

Swaran Singh, Professor of International Relations at Jawaharlal Nehru University, echoes this view: “The K-visa at best can be described as one of the many tools that Beijing has introduced undergirding its rise as a great power of the 21st century,” he tells TRT World.