China’s top research funding agency will increase the number of prestigious grants for early-career scientists by 50%. The move is part of the country’s pledge to increase support for young scientists, who face intense competition to secure funding and jobs. Early career researchers have welcomed the news, but some academics say it won’t be a silver bullet.

The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the country’s largest funder of fundamental research, aims to fund 12,000 additional projects this year through its Young Scientists Fund, equivalent to a budget increase of about 3.6 billion yuan ($531 million). Projects are usually proposed by individuals, rather than groups.

“I was excited when I heard the news because more of us will be able to get grants,” says Shi, a 27-year-old electronic science and technology postdoctoral student in Hefei, China, who applied for a grant this year. He asked to share only by his last name to protect his identity.

In a statement released in May, the NSFC said it would provide additional sponsorships through one of the fund’s grant programs, called category C, a highly competitive program that is widely regarded as an entry ticket into the country’s research system. Last year, the NSFC gave a total of 7.2 billion yuan to 24,051 projects selected through this category.

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“In many Chinese universities, early-career academics must obtain a grant from the NSFC Young Scientists Fund to find a job, get promoted, or secure tenure,” says Tong Xinzhao, a bioinformatician at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in Suzhou, China. Tong won a category C grant last year after losing it four times.

Most early-career researchers apply for category C because it is considered the most realistic route to funding, Tong says.

Category C fellowships are open to postdoctoral candidates, young researchers and some postgraduate students. Applicants must be under 35 years old if they are men, or 40 years old if they are women.

The agency is expected to announce who won this year’s grants in August.

Promote basic research

The fact that the Chinese government intends to expand the Young Scientists Fund by such a large margin is notable, says Li Jiang, an information scientist at Nanjing University in China, who has studied the challenges facing young Chinese researchers.

Competition for all funds administered by the NSFC has been fierce in recent years due to the increasing number of applicants, despite the government continually increasing the agency’s budget. For category C, which before 2025 was known simply as the Young Scientists Fund, its funding more than doubled between 2015 and 2025, but the success rate of applicants receiving funding fell from 24.58% to 14.38%, according to official figures.

The boost to the Young Scientists Fund directly addresses the relentless competition these young people face by providing them with real and substantial resources, adds Jiang Li.

The news also sends a clear signal that the government sees young researchers as critical to its plan to produce more discoveries in fundamental sciences, says Li Jizhen, an innovation policy researcher at Tsinghua University in Beijing. In April, Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered the country to strengthen basic research.

Fierce competition

Many young researchers say that a big problem they face is their “out or in” contracts at universities; These typically last six years, after which researchers must gain tenure or face dismissal. This, coupled with the age restrictions for the Young Scientists Fund, makes competition for grants particularly brutal.

“If you think about how old a student usually is when they finish a doctoral program, they don’t have many years left to try to get this scholarship to start a career,” Tong says. Some candidates need to balance grant applications with their plans to have children, she adds.

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