China pledges ‘immigration system for hi-tech talent’ as part of new 5-year plan
Proposals follow the introduction of the K visa, designed to lure young researchers to the country, amid heightened tech rivalry with the US
Published: 7:00pm, 29 Oct 2025Updated: 7:03pm, 29 Oct 2025
China’s top leadership has pledged to build an immigration system to lure foreign talent in a move that may help increase its competitiveness amid the ongoing technological competition with the United States.
In the blueprint for the five-year plan
that starts next year, Beijing said it would “establish an immigration
system for hi-tech talent”, and “attract and cultivate outstanding
talent from around the world”.
The plans, released on Tuesday following a major policy meeting
of the Communist Party’s Central Committee last week, also included a
pledge to “build globally influential centres for education, science and
talent” and “cultivate outstanding engineers, master craftsmen,
high-skilled professionals and other diverse talents”.
The proposals follow the introduction earlier this month of the K visa,
a scheme designed to lure young graduates in science, technology,
engineering and mathematics by offering them streamlined entry,
residence and employment opportunities – without the need for a job
offer or letter of introduction.
The latest proposals build on a pledge in a policy paper last year to “explore and establish” a hi-tech immigration system.
“To the international community, this is a signal of China’s expansion of its opening up,” Zheng Jinlian, the vice-president at the Centre for China and Globalisation, a Beijing-based think tank, said.