Holding two scholarships, repeat awards and bringing family: what China scholarship notices allow
Sources checked · Unofficial summary
Three of the four official notices below exclude holding another Chinese government scholarship at the same time; the fourth does not use that test and instead restricts some repeat study. The MOFCOM Scholarship–CSC Program (Enrollment Guide) requires applicants to be “neither studying in China nor being admitted to other scholarship programs provided by Chinese government.” The ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship guidebook and the Chinese Trade Unions Silk Road Scholarship page each list the criterion “Not a concurrent awardee of a Chinese government scholarship.” The Application Guidelines for the International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship 2025 do not contain a clause on same-time awards; they state that, in principle, applicants who have received a similar scholarship within three years are not eligible for the One-Semester Study Program or One-Year Study Program. On family, only the MOFCOM notice addresses it: bringing a spouse or other dependent for accompanying is not allowed during study in China, and the scholarship provides no related cost. The ACYLS guidebook, the Silk Road scholarship page and the CLEC 2025 guidelines say nothing about dependants.
What each notice says about a second award at the same time
| Official notice | Clause on another Chinese government scholarship |
|---|---|
| MOFCOM Scholarship–CSC Program (Enrollment Guide) | Applicants must be “neither studying in China nor being admitted to other scholarship programs provided by Chinese government.” |
| Guidebook to the ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship | Eligibility criterion: “Not a concurrent awardee of a Chinese government scholarship.” |
| Chinese Trade Unions Silk Road Scholarship | Eligibility criterion: “Not a concurrent awardee of a Chinese government scholarship.” |
| Application Guidelines for International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship 2025 | No clause on concurrent awards. VI.1: “In principle, applicants who have received a similar scholarship within three years are not eligible for the One-Semester Study Program or One-Year Study Program.” |
The MOFCOM condition has two parts: you must not be studying in China, and you must not be admitted to another Chinese government scholarship programme. The ACYLS and Silk Road wording is narrower: it bars being a concurrent awardee of another Chinese government scholarship, and does not repeat MOFCOM’s separate “studying in China” condition.
The CLEC clause uses “similar scholarship”, not “Chinese government scholarship”, and names only the One-Semester Study Program and One-Year Study Program. The guidelines do not say whether the same limit applies to other ICLT programmes, and they do not address holding another award at the same time.
Applying again in a later cycle
The MOFCOM, ACYLS and Silk Road notices set conditions about the applicant’s status at the time of the award or admission. MOFCOM requires the applicant not to be studying in China and not to be admitted to another Chinese government scholarship programme, while ACYLS and Silk Road require the applicant not to be a concurrent awardee of a Chinese government scholarship. None of the three states a general rule about submitting a new application in a later year after a previous award has ended; the documents simply do not address that situation.
The CLEC 2025 guidelines do address one repeat case. The edition is dated January 2025 and was written for programmes starting between July 2025 and March 2026; those dates belong to that cycle and have passed. In that edition, the three-year limit applies only to the One-Semester Study Program and One-Year Study Program. The guidelines do not say whether the limit applies to later applications to the ICLT degree programmes or to other ICLT programmes, because the clause names only those two programmes.
Bringing a spouse or other dependants
Only the MOFCOM Scholarship–CSC Program notice mentions family. Its submission reminders state: “Bringing spouse or other dependent for accompanying is not allowed during the students’ study in China. The scholarship will not provide any related cost.” That is the whole of what the MOFCOM document says on the point: it bans accompanying dependants for the duration of study in China and says the scholarship will not pay any of the related cost.
The ACYLS guidebook, the Silk Road scholarship page and the CLEC 2025 guidelines do not mention spouses, dependants or family accompaniment. They do not give a rule that allows or forbids it; the point is simply not covered in those documents.
Questions people ask
Can I hold a MOFCOM scholarship and another Chinese government scholarship at the same time?
No. The MOFCOM Scholarship–CSC Program (Enrollment Guide) requires applicants to be “neither studying in China nor being admitted to other scholarship programs provided by Chinese government.” If you are already admitted to another Chinese government scholarship, you do not meet that condition.
Do the ACYLS and Silk Road scholarships allow a second Chinese government scholarship at the same time?
No. The Guidebook to the ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship and the Chinese Trade Unions Silk Road Scholarship each require: “Not a concurrent awardee of a Chinese government scholarship.” That bars holding another Chinese government award at the same time. It does not repeat MOFCOM’s separate condition about already studying in China.
What does the CLEC 2025 guideline say about a recent similar scholarship?
In principle, you cannot take the One-Semester Study Program or One-Year Study Program if you received a similar scholarship within three years. The Application Guidelines for International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship 2025 state this in VI.1. The clause names only those two programmes and does not address concurrent awards or later applications to other ICLT programmes.
Can I bring my spouse or dependants on the MOFCOM scholarship?
No. The MOFCOM Scholarship–CSC Program notice says: “Bringing spouse or other dependent for accompanying is not allowed during the students’ study in China. The scholarship will not provide any related cost.”
Do the ACYLS, Silk Road or CLEC notices say anything about bringing family?
No. The ACYLS guidebook, the Silk Road scholarship page and the CLEC 2025 guidelines do not address spouses, dependants or family accompaniment. The absence of a rule in those documents is not a statement of permission; it means only that they do not set out a rule on the point.
Sources
- MOFCOM SCHOLARSHIP-CSC Program (Enrollment Guide), China Scholarship Council (Campus China, campuschina.org)
- Guidebook to the ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship, China Scholarship Council (Campus China, campuschina.org)
- Chinese Trade Unions Silk Road Scholarship, China Scholarship Council (Campus China, campuschina.org)
- Application Guidelines for International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship 2025, Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC, chinese.cn)
Checked October 10, 2026
This page is an unofficial summary and is not published by the China Scholarship Council, Campus China or the Center for Language Education and Cooperation; if anything here differs from the official notice, the official notice prevails.