Chinese Government Scholarship timeline: the months official notices give from application to arrival
Sources checked · Unofficial summary
Two of the Chinese Government Scholarship notices give a month-by-month calendar, and they do not match each other. The Guidebook to the ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship spreads applications across January to March with results at the end of July, while the Youth of Excellence Scheme of China notice for the 2026 intake sets a single online deadline of 23:59 on 31 March 2026 (GMT+8) and announces enrollment in June. The two other notices covered here are thinner: the MOFCOM notice names only the end of August and September, and the China Link notice says the CSC application portal is open all year round.
ACYLS and YES China, side by side
Both calendars end in September, but the review and placement steps sit in different months.
| Month | ACYLS (Guidebook) | YES China (2026 intake notice) |
|---|---|---|
| January–March | Apply to ACYLS national focal points or the AUN Secretariat and complete the online application in the CGSIS | Prepare application materials and apply for a pre-admission letter from the intended university |
| 31 March | Not given as a date | Online application deadline, 23:59 GMT+8 |
| March–April | Focal points and the AUN Secretariat review candidates; the Joint Committee in Jakarta submits a nomination list to CSC | Not stated |
| May–July | CSC engages with the designated universities for placement | May: a panel of experts arranged by CSC reviews the documents |
| June | Not stated | Admissions outcomes are publicized and admission documents are sent |
| End of July | CSC notifies scholarship recipients of final results; host universities mail admission documents | Not stated |
| July–August | August: recipients receive admission documents and complete procedures for coming to China | Accepted applicants go to Chinese embassies or consulates for study visas |
| September | Recipients arrive in China and register with host universities | Students arrive, complete registration and obtain residence permits |
For ACYLS, the guidebook says applications generally open from January to March every year, and that applicants should consult the ACYLS national focal points or the AUN Secretariat directly for that year's deadline; the page itself gives no application deadline date. The focal point list on the page is headed "As of 2026".
For YES China, the dates above belong to the 2026 intake. The online deadline of 31 March 2026 has passed, and no notice for a following intake had appeared on the page when it was checked.
MOFCOM: only two timing lines
The MOFCOM Scholarship–CSC Program enrollment guide gives fewer dates than the two calendars above. It states that the Economic and Commercial Counselor's Office (ECCO) of the Chinese Embassy in your country will be open for application, and that scholarship winners will receive the admission package from ECCO of the Chinese Embassy by the end of August and must register at the host university before the deadline, which is usually September.
The page carries no academic year and no deadline date. Its instruction is to consult the application receiving authority for the deadline of each year. Each applicant can choose one major and three preferred universities out of the 26 designated universities, and CSC places each applicant in one university only, on the basis of their choice and the universities' requirements.
China Link: a year-round portal
The China Link Short-term Scientific Exchange Scholarship Program (2026) notice works on the host university's schedule rather than a single intake. Applicants contact the host Chinese university in advance to obtain admission qualification, then complete the CSC online application at studyinchina.csc.edu.cn. The notice says the CSC application portal is open to applicants all year round.
The timing rules that follow from that are institutional rather than annual:
- Host Chinese universities process applications and must submit the scholarship nomination list to CSC at least 2 months before the students' arrival in China.
- CSC notifies Chinese host universities of scholarship award results on a monthly basis.
- Host Chinese universities notify the award results to applicants.
- Scholars must start study in China no later than 31 August 2027; the funding duration is 1–12 months.
Where the notice is not specific, it says so: it recommends consulting the host university's international student admission department as early as possible to confirm the deadline for university-level review, because requirements may vary by institution.
What the main Application Guide does not say
The Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship gives no dates. The page carries no publication date and no academic year, and it does not set out a month-by-month calendar of the kind above. It should not be read as the place to find a deadline.
The notices that do address deadlines point back to the receiving bodies. The ACYLS guidebook directs applicants to the ACYLS national focal points or the AUN Secretariat. The MOFCOM guide directs applicants to the application receiving authority for the deadline of each year. The China Link notice directs applicants to the host university's international student admission department. In each case the date is held by the body receiving the application, not by a single central date printed on the Campus China page.
Questions people ask
Is there one deadline for the Chinese Government Scholarship?
No single date is given across the notices covered here. The main Application Guide gives no dates at all, and each of the programme notices sends applicants to a different body: the ACYLS national focal points or AUN Secretariat, the MOFCOM application receiving authority, or the host university's international student admission department for China Link. Only the YES China notice for the 2026 intake prints a fixed national time, 23:59 on 31 March 2026 (GMT+8).
When does the 2026 YES China cycle close?
The online application deadline in the notice is 23:59 on 31 March 2026, GMT+8. That date belongs to the 2026 intake and has passed; the page had not been updated with a notice for the following intake when it was checked.
Can China Link applications be submitted at any time of year?
The notice states that the CSC application portal is open to applicants all year round. What is not year-round is the arrival deadline: scholars must start study in China no later than 31 August 2027, and the host university must send CSC the nomination list at least 2 months before arrival.
When do MOFCOM winners receive their admission documents?
The enrollment guide states that scholarship winners receive the admission package from ECCO of the Chinese Embassy by the end of August, and must register at the host university before the deadline, which is usually September. The page gives no academic year and no application deadline date.
Sources
- Guidebook to the ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship — China Scholarship Council (Campus China, campuschina.org)
- Youth of Excellence Scheme of China Program Chinese Government Scholarship — China Scholarship Council (Campus China, campuschina.org)
- MOFCOM SCHOLARSHIP-CSC Program (Enrollment Guide) — China Scholarship Council (Campus China, campuschina.org)
- China Link Short-term Scientific Exchange Scholarship Program (2026) — China Scholarship Council (Campus China, campuschina.org)
- Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship — China Scholarship Council (Campus China, campuschina.org)
Checked 10 October 2026.
This page is an unofficial summary, is not published by the bodies named above, and the official notice prevails if the two differ.