What is the difference between the CSC Bilateral Program and the University Program?
Unofficial answer · Sources checked
The Bilateral Program and the University Program are two categories of the Chinese Government Scholarship, and the practical difference between them is where your application is filed. Under the Bilateral Program you file with the dispatching department of your own country; under the University Program you file with a designated Chinese university, which is the body that recommends you. The two also rest on different bases, set out below.
What the rules say
The Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship, published by the China Scholarship Council on Campus China, lists both categories in its section I, "Scholarship Categories and Application".
Bilateral Program, section I(I): "The program accords with the cooperation and exchange agreements or consensus reached by the Chinese government and the governments and institutions of other nations." It is open to undergraduates, postgraduates, general and senior scholars, and "an applicant shall file an application with the dispatching department of their home countries."
University Program, section I(II): "The program is designed to finance the study of talented international students in China that are directly ***ed and recommended by designated Chinese universities." The supporting student categories "are various which is subject to the requirements of each of these universities", and "an applicant shall file an application with Chinese universities undertaking this program."
One word of that University Program sentence is masked as "***ed" in the page text read for this page; this page does not guess it.
How the two routes compare
| Bilateral Program | University Program | |
|---|---|---|
| Basis | Cooperation and exchange agreements or consensus reached by the Chinese government and the governments and institutions of other nations | Financing the study of talented international students in China who are directly ***ed and recommended by designated Chinese universities |
| Who can be supported | Undergraduates, postgraduates, general and senior scholars | Various student categories, subject to the requirements of each of these universities |
| Where the application goes | The dispatching department of the applicant's home country | The Chinese universities undertaking this program |
Section V of the guide sets out one application process for both routes, in which the agency and the university each play a part: the applicant identifies a program, university and major, obtains admission documents from the designated university, obtains a recommendation from an application receiving agency, and submits the application form online; the agency then submits the recommended candidates list and documents; the CSC organises designated universities and experts to examine eligibility and academic performance before finalising the short-list, and notifies the results to the agency, which informs the applicant.
What one embassy's page shows
The Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan published guidance for the 2021/2022 academic year on 10 December 2020. That page is one dated example of how a bilateral channel is run, and everything below is that embassy's statement, not a rule for all missions.
The embassy describes the Bilateral Program as full or partial scholarships in accordance with educational exchange agreements or consensus between the Chinese government and the governments of other countries, institutions, universities or international organizations. It says the program supports applications for undergraduate, postgraduate and Ph.D programs as well as general scholar and senior scholar non-degree programs, and that applicants "shall apply to the dispatching authorities for overseas study of their home countries". For that intake, the embassy states that it entrusts the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan to select and nominate qualified candidates and that "the Chinese Embassy does not accept individual application." Applicants were told to apply through HEC, to use the CSC online system for the application itself, and to submit hardcopies of application documents to the HEC HRD office before the deadline set by HEC — that deadline belongs to the 2021/2022 intake. The page also states that 289 designated Chinese universities then offered programs across a listed range of fields, and that individual applicants may apply directly to Chinese universities for scholarship through other programs.
The page does not state whether the same arrangement applies to a later intake. The Higher Education Commission of Pakistan's own website could not be read and is not used here.
What the official pages do not say
The Application Guide page carries no publication date and no academic year, so the sections read for this page state no intake and no deadline, and they do not compare the two programs by number of places or by how likely an application is to succeed. For the Bilateral Program, ask the dispatching department named by your own country's authorities; for the University Program, ask the international student office of the designated university.
Related questions
Do I apply to a Chinese embassy for the Bilateral Program?
The guide says you file with the dispatching department of your home countries. The Pakistan embassy's 2021/2022 guidance goes further for that intake: the embassy entrusts the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan to select and nominate candidates and states that it does not accept individual applications. How any other embassy runs its channel is not stated on the pages read for this page.
Can I apply directly to a Chinese university?
Yes, under the University Program: the guide says an applicant shall file an application with the Chinese universities undertaking this program. The Pakistan embassy's 2021/2022 page also states that individual applicants may apply directly to Chinese universities for scholarship through other programs, and gives www.csc.edu.cn/laihua and campuschina.org as places to find application information.
What steps does the application follow?
Section V of the Application Guide sets out the process in order.
- Learn about the designated Chinese universities and the majors they offer.
- Identify your preferred scholarship program, designated university and major.
- Contact the designated university for admission documents.
- Contact an application receiving agency for a recommendation.
- Fill in and submit the Application Form for Chinese Government Scholarship online.
- Wait while the agency submits the recommended candidates list and the application documents.
- Wait while the CSC examines eligibility and academic performance and finalises the short-list.
- Receive the result through the application receiving agency, which the CSC notifies.
Are there other Chinese Government Scholarship programs?
Yes. Section I(III) lists designated scholarship programs set up under cooperation agreements between China and international organizations and institutions, each with its own receiving agency: the Great Wall Program (National Commission for UNESCO in the home country), the EU Program (Office for Education and Culture, Mission of the PRC to the EU), the AUN Program (AUN Secretariat), the PIF Program (Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat) and the WMO Program (WMO). Section I(IV) covers the Student Exchange Program, which supports general and senior scholars for a training session of no more than 12 months, with applications filed with Chinese universities and their foreign partners.
Sources
- Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship — China Scholarship Council (Campus China, campuschina.org)
- Guidance of Applying for the Chinese Government Scholarship Bilateral Program (2021/2022 Academic Year) — Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (pk.china-embassy.gov.cn)
Checked 10 October 2026
This page is an unofficial summary of the official pages named above, is not legal or immigration advice, is not published by or affiliated with any of the bodies named, and where the official text or the instructions of the university, embassy or exit-entry office handling your case differ, theirs prevail.