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How to apply for the MOFCOM Scholarship: the embassy's Economic and Commercial Counsellor's Office route

Sources checked · Unofficial summary

A MOFCOM Scholarship application does not go to a university and does not go to the China Scholarship Council directly. It goes to the Economic and Commercial Counsellor's Office (ECCO) of the Chinese Embassy in your own country. The order is: get your home government's approval first, complete the online form on campuschina.org as Type A with agency number 00010, print it, then hand the printed form and the document set to the ECCO.

Where the application goes

The MOFCOM SCHOLARSHIP-CSC Program enrollment guide published by the China Scholarship Council states that the Economic and Commercial Counsellor's Office of the Chinese Embassy in your country is the office open for applications.

The guide gives no academic year and no deadline date. It tells applicants to consult the application receiving authority for the deadline of each year. For the emails and addresses of the Economic and Commercial Counsellor's Offices, the guide points to china-aibo.cn.

The order the application moves in

  1. Contact the relevant department of your own government.
  2. Obtain its approval and recommendation.
  3. Register an account on the CSC Study in China site at campuschina.org.
  4. Log in and fill in your personal details.
  5. Select Program Category Type A.
  6. Enter agency number 00010.
  7. Complete the language proficiency and study plan section.
  8. Upload the supporting documents.
  9. Submit the online application.
  10. Print the application form.
  11. Submit the printed form and the documents to the ECCO.
  12. Submit scanned electronic copies as well.
  13. Collect your hard-copy documents back from the ECCO.
  14. Carry them to China if you are admitted.

Your home government's approval comes first

The guide states that applicants shall obtain approval and recommendation from the relevant department of the host country before applying for the scholarship. Only afterwards do they submit an application, following the requirements of that department.

Two routes then appear in the guide.

  • Where the host government submits the application itself, the responsible department of that government sends a written request to the ECCO of the Chinese Embassy for an official recommendation letter. The request must state whether the applicant is willing to be considered for a similar program at other universities if the applied programs cannot accept the applicant, and must state any other special requests.
  • Where the host government allows the applicant to submit directly to the Embassy of China, the applicant obtains a permission or recommendation letter from that government stating that the applicant has been approved to study in China. The applicant then submits the original of that letter, together with the other application documents, to the ECCO. A scanned electronic edition of the documents is also required.

The online form: Type A and agency number 00010

Attachment 1 of the enrollment guide sets out the online steps. Applicants register on campuschina.org through the Scholarship Application for Students entry, then fill in personal details, verify them and save them.

Program Category and Agency Number are directly matched. For this programme the category is Type A and the agency number is 00010. Both are mandatory. The guide warns that if either one is wrong, the application processing authorities will not receive the online application, and that an application with an incorrect agency number will not be processed. After the agency number is entered, the matched agency name appears on the page automatically.

For Type A applicants, the system matches the available universities automatically according to the selected student category, preferred teaching language and major applied for. The guide directs applicants with questions about the majors available at each university to the universities index on campuschina.org, and points to the Catalog of Discipline Field, First-level Discipline, Specialty in the Help section for the relation between discipline and major.

After submission, no amendment can be made to personal details or application information. Before the application is processed by the processing authorities, the applicant can revoke it by clicking Withdraw and edit it; a revoked application must be submitted a second time after re-editing, or it will not be processed. Once the application is processed, it cannot be revoked.

The same instructions ask applicants to use Firefox or Internet Explorer 11.0, to close the compatible view mode in Internet Explorer before editing, and to fill in all application information in Chinese or English. The notes also state that the China Scholarship Council never entrusts any individual or intermediary agent to process Chinese government scholarship applications, and that campuschina.org is the only official website on which the Council publishes Study in China information.

The document list

The enrollment guide lists nine items, to be written in Chinese or English:

  1. Application Form for MOFCOM Scholarship-CSC Program, submitted online and printed as a hard copy.
  2. Photocopy of the highest diploma.
  3. Photocopy of academic transcripts.
  4. A study plan or research proposal, plus a resume covering educational background and work experience after high school.
  5. Two recommendation letters, one from the current employer and one from an academic perspective.
  6. Photocopy of the Foreigner Physical Examination Form.
  7. Photocopy of the English proficiency certificate.
  8. Photocopy of a valid passport.
  9. Non-criminal Record Report, a valid certificate issued by the local public security authority, usually issued within six months before the date the application is submitted.

Documents in another language need a notarized copy in Chinese or English. Original copies of degrees, transcripts, the Foreigner Physical Examination Form and language certificates must be presented for on-site verification.

What happens to the hard copies

The ECCO returns all hard-copy materials, both originals and photocopies, to the applicant. If admitted, the student must take those documents to China and submit them to the university for verification and archive. The guide does not say how long the ECCO holds them before returning them.

One major, three universities, 26 designated universities

Each applicant may choose one major and three preferred universities from the 26 designated universities. The Council places each applicant in one university only, on the basis of the applicant's choice and the universities' requirements.

The admission package

Scholarship winners receive the admission package from the ECCO of the Chinese Embassy by the end of August and must register at the host university before the deadline, which the guide says is usually September. The guide states that no explanation will be given on the enrollment result, and that applications without the recommendation of the ECCO of the Chinese Embassy will not be considered. It also states that bringing a spouse or other dependent to accompany the student is not allowed during study in China, and that the scholarship will not provide any related cost.

Questions people ask

Do I apply to the Chinese Embassy directly?

Only if your own government allows it. The guide describes both routes: submission through the responsible department of your government, which requests an official recommendation letter from the ECCO, and direct submission to the Embassy when the host government permits it, with a permission or recommendation letter from that government stating you have been approved to study in China.

What are the program category and agency number?

Type A and 00010. Both are stated in Attachment 1 of the enrollment guide as applying only to applicants of the MOFCOM Scholarship-CSC Program, and both are mandatory.

Can I change my application after submitting it?

No. The guide states that amendment cannot be made to personal details or application information once submitted. You may revoke the application by clicking Withdraw before it is processed, edit it, and then submit it again.

Do I get my original documents back?

Yes. The guide states that applicants get back all hard-copy materials from the ECCO, both original copies and photocopies, and that admitted students must take them to China and submit them to the university for verification and archive.

Will I be told why I was not admitted?

No. The guide states that no explanation will be given on the enrollment result.

Can my spouse or children come with me?

The guide states that bringing a spouse or other dependent for accompanying is not allowed during study in China, and that the scholarship will not provide any related cost.

Sources

Checked 10 October 2026

This page is an unofficial summary and is not published by the China Scholarship Council, Campus China or any embassy; where this page and the official notice differ, the official notice prevails.

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