Belt and Road Scholarship: What Actually Exists in China

There is no single official “Belt and Road Scholarship”. What actually exists is a group of Chinese scholarships aimed at Belt and Road countries. The main one is the Silk Road Program under the Chinese Government Scholarship (CSC – Type B), a full scholarship covering tuition, accommodation, insurance and a monthly stipend of CNY 2,500 (about US$350) for bachelor’s students and CNY 3,000 (about US$420) for master’s students, but not airfare. Alongside it are other Chinese government scholarships (Type A, via the embassy) and provincial and university awards, some of which mention Belt and Road countries in their criteria. Here is how to tell these programmes apart, who qualifies, how to apply, and which common online myths to ignore, with official sources.

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What Is the Belt and Road Initiative?

It is a Chinese initiative for economic and development cooperation with countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and beyond. The Chinese government publishes the list of countries that have signed cooperation documents on the initiative’s official portal, yidaiyilu.gov.cn. Some universities use this list to decide who is eligible for scholarships such as the Silk Road Program, as shown in the CTGU announcement.

Official Programmes Aimed at Belt and Road Countries

Programme	Administered by	How to apply	Source
Chinese Government Scholarship – Silk Road Program (Type B)	China’s Ministry of Education and the China Scholarship Council (CSC), through universities	Through the Chinese university, then the CSC portal	Peking University
Chinese Government Scholarship – Bilateral Program (Type A)	China Scholarship Council (CSC)	Through the nominating body in your country or the Chinese embassy, usually from late November to early April	HUST
Provincial and municipal government scholarships	Governments such as Beijing, Shanghai and Jiangsu	Through the host university	Peking University – Beijing Government Scholarship
University scholarships	The university itself	With the admission application	Example: Xi’an Jiaotong University

The Silk Road Program in Detail

Coverage: tuition waiver, free on-campus accommodation, comprehensive medical insurance, and a monthly stipend of CNY 2,500 for bachelor’s students and CNY 3,000 for master’s students.
Travel: at the student’s own expense.
Age: under 25 for bachelor’s and under 35 for master’s.
CSCA: compulsory for bachelor’s applicants.
Countries and subjects: each university sets these every year; for 2026, for example, Nankai University named ten specific countries, so check whether yours is on the list.
Combining awards: applicants must not hold another scholarship.

Sources: Nankai University and CTGU. Full details in the Silk Road Scholarship guide.

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Provincial Government Scholarships: Documented Examples

Beijing Government Scholarship: Category A covers tuition, accommodation, living costs and insurance; Category B covers tuition, accommodation and insurance; Category C covers tuition and insurance. At Peking University it is offered as a full or partial tuition waiver (half or a quarter), with applications in September–October. Sources: Beijing Municipal Government and Peking University.
Shanghai Government Scholarship: Category A is full (tuition, accommodation, a stipend of CNY 2,500 / 3,000 / 3,500, and insurance); Category B is partial (tuition and insurance). Source: Shanghai Municipal Education Commission.

These scholarships are not reserved for Belt and Road countries, but they are open to international students in general. Read about local government scholarships in China.

How to Choose the Right Programme

If your country has a bilateral scholarship agreement with China: ask your ministry of higher education or the Chinese embassy about Type A; deadlines are usually between late November and early April.
If your subject appears in Silk Road announcements and your country is listed: apply through the university for Type B.
In every case: apply in parallel for university and provincial scholarships, which have broader eligibility.

Common Myths Online

“The Belt and Road scholarship covers your flight to China”: not true for the Silk Road Program; according to official announcements, travel is at the student’s own expense.
“You can combine two government scholarships”: not true; the Silk Road Program requires that applicants hold no other scholarship.
“There is a fixed list of eligible countries”: there isn’t; the list varies by university, subject and year.
“It requires extra funding from the university”: not true; the full government scholarship does not require students to find extra money for tuition.

Practical Steps for International Students

Choose your subject and level, and check the age limit (25 for bachelor’s, 35 for master’s and 40 for doctoral programmes under the government scholarship).
Prepare a language certificate (HSK for Chinese-taught programmes, or IELTS/TOEFL for English-taught ones) and your CSCA result for bachelor’s programmes.
Search the scholarship pages of your target universities for “Silk Road Program”, as well as provincial and university scholarships.
Submit your admission application on the university portals, and on the CSC portal after you are nominated.
In parallel, watch for the Type A announcement in your own country.

Read how to apply for the CSC scholarship and studying for free in China.

How to Read a Chinese University Scholarship Announcement

Programme type: is it “Type A” (via the embassy), “Type B” (via the university), or a university or provincial scholarship?
Country list: Silk Road programmes name the countries explicitly; if yours is not listed, do not apply to this specific programme.
Coverage: full (tuition, accommodation, stipend and insurance) or partial (tuition only, or half tuition).
Language of instruction and language requirement: a specific HSK level and score, or IELTS/TOEFL.
University code (Agency No.): required when registering on the CSC portal for Type B; for example, Nankai is 10055 and HUST is 10487.
Deadline: the university’s deadline is often earlier than the CSC portal deadline.

After You Win the Scholarship: Visa and Residence

The university sends you your admission documents and the JW201 form (the form for scholarship students).
Apply for an X1 visa for study longer than 180 days (or X2 for shorter programmes such as one semester or the four-week programme) at the Chinese embassy or consulate in your country.
After arrival, you register your address with the police within 24 hours; the international student office usually helps with this.
You convert the X1 visa into a residence permit within 30 days of arrival.

Source: China’s Exit and Entry Administration Law. China joined the Apostille Convention, which came into force there on 7 November 2023, so documents issued in member countries need only an apostille, while those from other countries need full legalisation (table of contracting parties).

Costs the Scholarship Does Not Cover

Flights to and from your home country.
Visa fees, the medical examination, and document authentication and translation in your home country.
Application fees at universities that charge them (some waive them for scholarship holders).
Your expenses for the first weeks before the first monthly stipend is paid, so bring enough to cover at least a month.

To work out these items in your own currency, use the study cost calculator.

Can I Work to Cover My Expenses?

Regular employment under a contract is forbidden for international students in China. The only thing allowed is university-organised “work-study”: up to 8 hours a week and 40 hours a month during term, and 16 hours a week and 80 hours a month during holidays. Violations carry a fine of CNY 5,000–20,000. So do not build your financial plan on working. Source: China’s Ministry of Education.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is there an official scholarship called the Belt and Road Scholarship?

There is no single official programme under that name. The official programme aimed at Belt and Road countries within the Chinese Government Scholarship is the “Silk Road Program”.

How much is the monthly stipend?

In the Silk Road Program it is CNY 2,500 for bachelor’s and CNY 3,000 for master’s students, and in the Chinese Government Scholarship generally CNY 3,500 for doctoral students.

Can I apply for more than one scholarship?

You can apply for different scholarships, but you may not combine two Chinese government scholarships, and the Silk Road Program requires that you hold no other scholarship.

Do I apply through the embassy?

The Silk Road Program goes through the university (Type B), while the bilateral programmes (Type A) go through the embassy or the nominating body in your country.

Last updated: October 2026. The information comes from the official announcements of the universities and bodies cited.

Belt and Road Scholarship