Chinese K Visa Backfires Across the Entire Internet

Graduates attend mutual selection job fair at Tianjin University Sports Arena on November 26, 2014 in Tianjin, China. With a new term of graduates leaving universities, companies of all walks of life started their personnel recruitment for graduates. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

[People News] It’s not hard for someone to make a stupid move once in a while; the difficult thing is being able to churn out stupid moves time and time again.

With the launch of the K Visa, Xi Jinping was scolded as a “deranged tyrant beyond rescue.”

On the eve of the CCP’s “National Mourning Day,” Xi Jinping once again pulled off a blunder—this time at a new level of absurdity! Even hardcore leftist propagandists couldn’t hold back and started firing back, openly defecting. The NPC’s official website and the Foreign Ministry’s video on Bilibili were both ridiculed en masse by netizens, and in domestic circles of Han nationalist “wolf warriors,” protest posters said to be seen at Tiananmen Square on October 1 were widely circulated.

So, what exactly was this blunder? On September 29, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun announced at a regular press conference that in order to promote exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and foreign young scientific and technological talents, China had decided to add a new category under ordinary visas: the Youth Science and Technology Talent Visa, namely the K Visa. The K Visa policy would officially be implemented starting this year’s October 1.

What is the K Visa? On August 14, officials from the CCP’s Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Public Security, and the National Immigration Administration explained in a press Q&A that this visa is aimed at foreign youth talents in science and technology (primarily STEM fields—Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics—bachelor’s degree holders or above, or those engaged in education or research in related institutions). Applicants do not need an employer or inviting organization within China.

What does this mean? Back on August 7 this year, the State Council amended the “Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on the Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreigners,” which formally added the K Visa policy. It has two core elements: first, attracting foreign young scientific and technological talents; second, low entry requirements. In other words, the CCP is ignoring its vast pool of domestic 985/211 university graduates, instead embracing foreigners, abandoning nationalism, and turning toward an international strategic vision. And the bar is very low—just having a bachelor’s degree in a STEM field is enough, and no employer sponsorship is required; individuals can apply directly. The visa can last up to five years, allows multiple entries, and each stay can be up to 180 days. Holders are permitted to engage in research, education, entrepreneurship, business, and cultural exchange.

Put simply: the CCP is throwing its doors wide open, unconditionally allowing foreign university graduates to come to China and compete with the more than 10 million domestic university graduates produced each year! Which foreign graduates would actually come to China to find work? From Europe, the U.S., Japan, South Korea? They’re not that foolish—while the CCP constantly shouts about catching spies and traitors, no developed-country graduate would take the bait.

So who would come? Chinese netizens quickly exposed the truth: Indian “tiger parents’ kids” (high-pressure test-prep students) will come. Exactly. The CCP’s little calculation couldn’t be hidden from netizens. In 2025, the Trump administration plans to tighten H-1B visas. On September 21, the U.S. signed an executive order imposing a $100,000 annual fee on H-1B applicants. Indians account for 71% of H-1B visas. With the U.S. raising the bar, many Indians will seek new outlets, and the CCP thinks it has seized the opportunity. “America, aren’t you shooting yourself in the foot? Digging your own wall?” the CCP imagines. It believes it has scored a bargain, a “talent windfall” dropped from the sky, and that this once-in-a-lifetime chance to “harvest brainpower” from America will give it the upper hand in U.S.-China tech competition. How could they let such a “golden opportunity” slip away?!

Unexpectedly, China’s own graduates exploded in anger. The internet was set ablaze! On Weibo, Bilibili, Zhihu—the scolding, ridicule, and fury were deafening; the sighs, resentments, and cries of anguish filled every word. Netizens blasted the CCP: “Domestic master’s and PhD holders can’t even find jobs, and you’re importing bachelor’s grads—what a cosmic joke.” “Might as well hang India’s national flag on October 1.” “A criminal through the ages.” “Never seen anyone so eager to trample their own people.” “Those who don’t want to have children will be even less willing now, but if no one gives birth, you’ll just import foreigners. My God, it’s a death loop.”

Some netizens shouted: “Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves!” “I’m Chinese, I oppose the K Visa—October 1, see you at Tiananmen Square with the OK hand gesture.” Bilibili users directed their anger at Xi Jinping: “I never understood how the Sui Dynasty could collapse when everything looked fine, but now I know: when a tyrant goes mad, no one can save him.”

Little Pink nationalists cried, ‘Our home was stolen,’ People’s Daily rushes to extinguish the fire.

The K policy was like a depth charge, detonating both left and right factions inside the firewall. Leftist propagandist Shen Yi, a Fudan University professor, sharply criticized the authorities on Weibo: “Looking down on our own talent, failing to provide proper domestic services, and instead daydreaming about ‘foreign experience.’” On Zhihu, a Chinese student studying in Canada—a self-identified “Little Pink”—cried out: “Our home has been stolen.”

The K policy even drove a user on X, “Tiger King @huwang9278,” to quit the CCP: “This is a major victory for Beijing’s leftists. The K Visa will lead to large numbers of Indians forging credentials to settle in China, stealing jobs from Chinese, and causing China’s tech secrets to leak to India. I am extremely disappointed in the Communist Party. Today I submitted my resignation from the Party. From now on, I am no longer a CCP member.”

On September 29, propagandist Hu Xijin tried to smooth things over, posting a video: “Chinese embassies and consulates abroad must already be fully aware of domestic concerns and won’t allow a bunch of mediocrities to flood in, worsening the already tense job market.” On September 30, People’s Daily published a commentary titled “Misinterpreting the K Visa Only Misleads the Public” in a frantic attempt at damage control.

But netizens weren’t buying it. Less than two hours before the K Visa was to take effect, Weibo was flooded with reposts of Chinese soldiers killed by Indian troops, captioned with “Restless in death.” With 1 hour 45 minutes left before the policy went live, countless netizens flooded the NPC’s online petition system to file complaints about the K Visa—forcing the platform offline for “maintenance.”

With less than 10 minutes left before the K Visa officially took effect, related hashtags and topics were completely drowned in opposition. One user roared: “China belongs to the Chinese people, not to a single government. We firmly oppose the K Visa!”

Another wrote in grief: “How will history record this September? So surreal—ordinary people care, but the more they care, the more exhausted they feel.”

Indeed, September 2025 has been full of blunders from the CCP: on September 1, mandatory nationwide insurance; on September 3, a grand military parade wasting people’s money; on September 15, a rental housing regulation paving the way for taxing landlords; and on October 1, a new income tax on food delivery workers, who until now were exempt.

And now, on October 1, the CCP rolled out the K Visa to bring in foreign youth talents—turning the country into a “Brazilian steakhouse” joke. On December 20 last year, a foreign influencer said during a livestream in China: “Come to China, Chinese girls are easy to date. It’s like buying a cheap, high-quality steak in Brazil!” Now, visas to China are easy to get, and even with jobs scarce, Indian test-prep kids get first dibs.

People’s Daily argued desperately that China has a 30 million–person shortfall in manufacturing talent. Yet the same People’s Daily, in its April 2024 overseas edition, proudly declared: “Every year China produces over 5 million STEM graduates, leading the world!” “China’s total human talent pool has reached 220 million, with the world’s largest number of R&D staff.” No wonder people say People’s Daily can’t release a bound volume—the self-contradictions come too fast, too painful to read.

Back in 2018, the CCP introduced the R Visa for high-end talent, requiring executives, postdocs from elite schools, or associate professors and above, plus scoring over 85 points on a complex system.

But this K Visa? It leaves countless back doors open, with thresholds lowered to the dust. The details are vague. Netizens fear that once issued, many state-owned enterprises, public institutions, and research units will secretly reserve core positions for these people. They may even be allowed to bring families, enjoying “super-citizen” treatment like African students once did. These foreigners would live comfortably in China, and even if they committed crimes, no employer would be responsible. The CCP government itself would be their shield—effectively granting them near-immunity.

So why is the CCP doing something so self-destructive, angering the public while gaining nothing?

A Dream of Glory May Turn into a Heap of Ashes

First, as an authoritarian system, the CCP places no value on public opinion. They believe in the law of the jungle. Even if the public howls in outrage, what can come of it?

Second, behind the K Visa lies geopolitical maneuvering. The CCP is currently wooing India. Before the September 3 parade, Xi Jinping met Modi in Tianjin, giving him a full show of respect. The CCP aims to break up America’s Indo-Pacific strategy, pulling India away from the West to side with China and Russia. In the first quarter of this year, China’s embassies in India issued over 50,000 visas. On April 13, the Chinese ambassador posted on social media that as of April 9, China had already issued over 85,000 visas to Indians in 2025. Indian media (Times of India, Mint, India Today) covered the K Visa extensively as headline news, portraying it as a “new pathway” outside of the U.S. for Indian tech talent. India is a key pawn in the U.S.-China Indo-Pacific rivalry.

Third, the K Visa offers flexible entry, duration, and work rights, marking a major shift in China’s immigration policy. It is not “sudden,” but part of the CCP’s global talent strategy. Previously, the CCP relied on programs like the “Thousand Talents Plan” and overseas returnees to achieve technological “leapfrogging”—essentially theft of foreign IP. But that has become a U.S. national security target, with many Chinese-Americans arrested. The CCP’s “innovation-driven development” and Made in China 2025 strategy may now take a more diversified approach, and the K Visa could be one such path. Its eventual aim may be to expand to Western talent. In the context of the U.S.-China trade war and chip sanctions, China needs high-end talent to break tech bottlenecks. Experts say even attracting a “small portion” of global talent could strengthen China’s position in AI, quantum computing, and beyond. This is part of the CCP’s ambition to “become the world’s technology leader.”

Fourth, the K Visa serves as a new banner for the CCP’s façade of “openness.” To cover up its slide back into isolationism, planned economy, and anti-reform policies—while boosting domestic tourism and consumption—the CCP has aggressively expanded its visa-free list. By June 2025, China granted unilateral visa-free entry to Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain, bringing the total to 47 countries. The K Visa likewise creates the illusion that China remains an “open and friendly” nation.

But this illusion will be hard to sustain. The K Visa has already collapsed at launch, sparking widespread anxiety and fierce opposition. Fears of “Indians and Africans stealing jobs” and “foreign privilege” will worsen youth unemployment, destabilize society, and inflame nationalism—ironically threatening regime stability. On the geopolitical front, it could escalate U.S.-China friction. America may tighten policy further. If U.S.-China competition heats up, the result may be an all-out “zero-sum game” for talent.

(First published in People News) △