中國失業青年對新推出的「K簽證」去吸引外國專業人才的計劃不滿 (1/2)

Recently Google News on-line picked up the following:

China’s jobless youth aren’t happy with a plan to attract foreign professionals with a new ‘K-visa’ (1/2)

CNN - By Simone McCarthy;  CNN’s Joyce Jiang in Beijing contributed to this report

Oct 2, 2025

A new visa category launched by the Chinese government to attract young science and technology professionals is causing fervent backlash in China, where well-educated young people are already struggling to find work.

The new “K-visa,” launched October 1, has been touted by Chinese officials as a boon for the country’s development – and widely seen as a part of Beijing’s bid to gain an edge in its technology rivalry with the US as President Donald Trump pushes to slash federal funding for research and tightens restrictions on international students and workers.

But many voices across China have made clear they have a different view.

Discussion of the K-visa category has dominated social media discussion in recent days, where top-trending hashtags related to the visa have reached roughly half a billion views in the space of two days.

Many voices pointed to deep-seated challenges faced by young jobseekers in China, where youth unemployment hovers close to 19% and a record 12.2 million new college graduates are competing for jobs in a tough economy.

“There are so many (master’s degree holders) here struggling to find jobs, and you are looking to bring in more talent (from overseas)?” read one comment on social media that garnered thousands of likes.

Some commentators reflected nationalist and xenophobic views within the country, with one wondering about the “endless consequences” of potentially expanding immigration. Nationalism has thrived under Chinese leader Xi Jinping, including on China’s tightly regulated social media platforms where moderate voices have been marginalized and online discourse can turn ugly when discussing foreigners.

Other commentators questioned whether applicants would be held to high enough standards.

“While the intention to attract talent is good, isn’t a bachelor’s degree a bit too easy? … Honestly, we’ve got plenty of talent here already, so I don’t really get it,” wrote another.

Beijing has yet to provide full requirements for the visa, which – despite the October 1 launch date – did not appear to be available for application as of Wednesday, according to a CNN check of several Chinese embassy websites globally. China is currently observing an eight-day business holiday.

Officials earlier said applicants would need a bachelor’s degree or above in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics from renowned universities or research institutions in China or abroad or be engaged in relevant professional education or research at such institutions.

China’s K-visa and the US’ H1-B

Unlike with the US’ H1-B visa program for skilled foreign workers, applicants for China’s K-visa would not need to have an employer or inviting organization in China before applying.

An overhaul of the H1-B program announced by the Trump administration last month has placed a greater spotlight on China’s new visa category.

The changes impose a $100,000 application fee for new H-1B visas – upending plans of professionals and students from around the world who have focused on pursuing education and careers in the US, the nation long seen as the global hub for innovation.

While China’s K-visa was announced weeks before the US move, the new category appears as a signal from Beijing to the world that as the US is closing its doors, China will open them more widely, including to foreign students already in the country.

(to be continued)

Translation

中國失業青年對新推出的「K簽證」去吸引外國專業人才的計劃不滿 (1/2)

中國政府為吸引年輕科技人才而推出的一項新簽證類別，在中國引發了強烈反對，因為受過良好教育的年輕人已經很難找到工作。

10月1日推出的新「K簽證」被中國官員吹捧為國家發展的利器，並被廣泛視為北京在特朗普總統力推削減聯邦科研經費並加強對國際學生和工人限制之際，為在與美國的技術競爭中佔據優勢而採取的舉措之一。

但中國各地也有許多聲音明確表示，他們持有不同的看法。

最近幾天，K簽證的討論佔據了社交媒體的主導地位，與該簽證相關的熱門標籤在兩天內就已達到約5億次閱讀量。

許多人指出，中國年輕求職者面臨深層的挑戰：青年失業率徘徊在19%左右，創紀錄的1,220萬應屆大學畢業生在嚴峻的經濟形勢下競爭就業。

社群媒體上獲得了數千個讚的一則留言寫道: 「這裡有這麼多（碩士學位持有者）找工作，你們還想引進更多（海外）人才？」

一些評論員反映了國內的民族主義和仇外情緒，其中一位評論員質疑擴大移民可能帶來的「無窮後果」。在中國領導人習近平的領導下，民族主義情緒高漲，包括在受到嚴格監管的社群媒體平台上，溫和的聲音被邊緣化，在討論外國人時，網路言論可能變得醜惡。

其他評論員則質疑申請人是否會被要求達到足夠高的標準。

另一位評論員寫道:「雖然吸引人才的初衷是好的，但學士學位是不是太容易了？…說實話，我們這裡已經有很多人才了，所以我真的不明白」。

北京尚未公佈該簽證的全部要求。儘管該簽證將於10月1日啟動，但根據CNN查詢全球多個中國大使館網站，截至週三，該簽證似乎尚未開放申請。中國目前正在享受為期八天的商務假期。

官員先前表示，申請人需要擁有國內外知名大學或研究機構頒發的科學、技術、工程或數學學士或以上學位，或在這些機構從事相關的專業教育或研究工作。

中國K簽證與美國H1-B簽證

與美國針對外國技術工人的H1-B簽證計劃不同，中國K簽證的申請人無需在申請前在中國擁有雇主或邀請機構。

特朗普政府上個月宣布對H1-B簽證計劃進行全面改革，使中國新的簽證類別更加引人注目。

這些美國改革措施規定，新的H-1B簽證申請費為10萬美元，這顛覆了世界各地專業人士和學生的計劃，他們一直專注於在美國這個長期以來被視為全球創新中心的國家去接受教育和發展事業。

雖然中國的K簽證在美國宣佈這項措施的幾週前就已發表，但這個新類別似乎是北京向世界發出的一個信號：在美國關閉大門之際，中國將更加廣泛地開放大門，包括向已經在美國的外國學生開放。

（待續）