Just as President Trump is making it much more expensive for American companies to bring in skilled foreign workers, China is rolling out a plan to welcome them.

就在特朗普总统大幅提高美国企业引进外国技术人才的成本之际，中国正推出新计划，对这些人才敞开大门。

On Oct. 1, China will launch a new type of visa designed to make it easier for graduates of top universities in science, technology, engineering or mathematics to travel to China to study or do business.

自10月1日起，中国将正式启用一种全新的签证，旨在为来自全球顶尖高校的科学、技术、工程和数学领域毕业生提供赴华学习或开展商业活动的便利。

The new visa category is part of China’s broader campaign to attract top scientific talent as it vies with the United States for technological and geopolitical dominance. China’s visa was announced a few weeks before Mr. Trump moved to impose a $100,000 fee for H-1B visas for skilled workers.

在中美争夺科技和地缘政治主导地位的背景下，这一新签证类别是中国吸引全球顶尖科技人才的更大行动的一部分。中国的签证新政是在特朗普对H-1B工作签证征收高达10万美元新费用的几周前推出的。

As the Trump administration has attacked universities, slashed federal research funding and questioned scientific authority, China has invested vast sums into research and development. It has also lured some top scientists in the United States to positions in China.

在特朗普政府抨击高校、大幅削减联邦科研经费、质疑科学权威的同时，中国则在研发领域投入了巨额资金，并成功吸引了一些美国顶尖科学家赴华任职。

It is far from clear how much the new K visa, as China’s visa is called, will affect the race for talent. Beijing has yet to release details about the program, including who will be eligible or whether they will be allowed to take up formal employment. And while foreigners with special knowledge have long been eligible for other types of visas to enter China, albeit with more paperwork, it is difficult for foreigners to immigrate to China permanently.

目前尚不清楚中国所谓的“K字签证”能在多大程度上影响人才竞争。北京方面尚未公布该项目的具体细节，包括申请人资格，以及是否允许持证者在华正式就业。尽管具备专业知识的外国人过去也可以申请其他类型签证进入中国，但通常手续繁琐，且外国人要永久移居中国仍非常困难。

But the gesture alone may help position China as becoming more open to the world, while the United States appears to be closing itself off.

不过，单从这一政策姿态来看，也足以让外界感觉中国正朝着更加开放的方向前进，而与此同时，美国似乎正逐步走向封闭。

“Silicon Valley has become more and more into the ‘America first’ culture,” said George Chen, a partner at The Asia Group, a consulting firm based in Washington, who focuses on technology policy. For tech workers from other countries who worry they are no longer welcome in the United States, he said, “when they see the news about K visas, they might think: I will have another option at least.”

“硅谷越来越倾向于‘美国优先’的文化，”华盛顿咨询公司美商亚洲集团合伙人、专注科技政策的陈澍表示。对于那些担心自己在美国不再受到欢迎的外国科技工作者来说，他说：“当他们看到有关K字签证的消息时，可能会想：至少我还有另一个选择。”

Historically, Chinese tech companies and universities have recruited mostly domestic talent. That is in part because China has focused heavily on STEM education in recent years, which, combined with its large population, now helps it produce the most STEM graduates in the world.

长期以来，中国的科技公司和高校主要依赖本土人才。这在一定程度上是因为中国近年来高度重视STEM（科学、技术、工程和数学）教育，加上其庞大的人口基础，该国已成为全球STEM毕业生人数最多的国家。

But China still lags behind the United States in some key fields, such as semiconductors and biotechnology, and it has been eager to draw in foreign talent to help it catch up. Yet foreigners traveling to China for work or business face, as in the United States, a cumbersome visa application process, including requirements for a sponsoring company and sometimes certification by the Chinese government as a “high-level talent.”

不过，在一些关键领域，如半导体和生物技术方面，中国仍然落后于美国，因此一直渴望希望引进外国人才以缩小差距。然而，与美国类似，外国人赴华工作或经商仍面临繁琐的签证申请流程，包括需有企业担保，有时还需获得中国政府“高层次人才”的认定。

The Chinese government has tried to smooth the process in recent years. For scientists, it has offered generous incentive packages and promised to cut red tape. The new K visa will offer longer stays, multiple entries and will not require an invitation letter from a company.

近年来，中国政府一直在努力简化相关流程。对于科研人员，政府不仅提供了丰厚的激励措施，还承诺减少官僚程序。新推出的K字签证将允许持有该签证者停留更长时间、可多次入境，并且无需企业出具邀请函。

The new visa could be most helpful to start-ups that don’t have the resources to apply for traditional employment visas, or foreign students in China seeking work, said Angus Chen, a Shenzhen-based headhunter for tech companies.

深圳的科技行业招聘猎头安格斯·陈表示，这种新签证对那些缺乏资源申请传统工作签证的初创企业，或是在中国求职的外国留学生来说，将尤其有利。

“Staying in China afterward to look for jobs will become much easier,” he said.

“今后留在中国找工作的难度将大大降低，”他说。

Big tech companies, such as Alibaba or Huawei, may also be better able to bring in foreign consultants on short notice.

像阿里巴巴、华为这样的科技巨头也将更容易在短时间内引进海外顾问。

Mr. Chen at the Asia Group (no relation to Angus Chen) said the visa could allow people who were interested in the Chinese tech world to test the waters.

美商亚洲集团合伙人陈澍表示，这种签证可以让那些对中国科技领域感兴趣的人先“试水”。

“There are a lot of people who are tempted to come to China, but they’re also not so sure,” he said. “I think the interest will only grow stronger, as those Chinese tech companies become more powerful and more capital-rich.”

“有很多人心动想来中国，但又犹豫不决，”他说，“随着中国科技公司变得更加强大、资本更为充裕，这种兴趣只会越来越浓厚。”

China still faces many obstacles in drawing large pools of foreign talent. (Those scientists who have relocated to China from overseas have often been people who were born in China, then moved abroad.) There are language barriers and political and cultural differences, not to mention very limited pathways to permanent residency.

中国在吸引大量外国人才方面仍面临诸多挑战。（那些从海外迁回中国的科学家往往是出生在中国后来移居国外的人）语言障碍、政治和文化差异，以及极其有限的永久居留途径，都是阻碍因素。

“China has long been solicitous of foreign expertise, but selectively, and on its own terms,” Dan Wang, a technology analyst and research fellow at Stanford University, wrote in an email. “Generally, China only wants economically productive foreigners; the state makes it clear that foreign nationals past the age of 60 will have a hard time maintaining residence in China.”

“中国长期以来对外国专家持欢迎态度，但这种欢迎是有选择性的，并且是按照自己的规则进行的，”斯坦福大学技术分析师兼研究员王旦在一封邮件中写道。“总体而言，中国只希望吸引能创造经济效益的外国人；政府也明确表示，超过60岁的外国人在华居留将面临较大困难。”

And the K visa is unlikely to replace the H-1B. The vast majority of H-1B visa holders in the United States are Indian, but relations between China and India are fraught. On Chinese social media, when Global Times, a nationalist tabloid, posted that many Indian news outlets were reporting on the new Chinese visa, many Chinese users responded with racist comments, saying they did not welcome Indians.

K字签证不太可能取代美国H-1B签证的地位。美国大多数H-1B签证持有者是印度人，而中印两国关系复杂。在中国社交媒体上，当民族主义色彩浓厚的《环球时报》发布印度多家媒体报道中国新签证的消息时，许多中国网民发表了歧视性言论，表示不欢迎印度人。

Some Indian analysts also said that an easier visa process would do little to convince Indians to replace the United States with China.

一些印度分析人士也认为，签证手续的简化并不足以说服印度人才放弃美国，转而选择中国。

“They’re not going to the U.S. because they got a visa. They’re going because it’s a whole lifestyle. They want to work there, they want to live there, they want to become American citizens,” said Santosh Pai, a lawyer in New Delhi who advises Chinese and Indian companies.

“他们去美国不是因为拿到了签证，而是因为那是一种全面的生活方式。他们想在那里工作、生活，甚至成为美国公民，”新德里律师、为中印企业提供咨询的桑托什·派表示。

And while Chinese state media has advertised the K visa as proof of China’s openness, China’s leader, Xi Jinping, has repeatedly emphasized the need for self-reliance, to shield against geopolitical uncertainties and hostile foreign powers.

尽管中国官方媒体将K字签证宣传为中国开放的象征，但中国领导人习近平多次强调要坚持自力更生，以应对地缘政治的不确定性和外部敌对势力的挑战。

“Don’t be fooled by the K visa,” said Mr. Chen, of the Asia Group. “Yes, the K visa is to get foreign experts. But you want to get the foreign experts to help you advance your own agenda, which is ultimately about self-reliance.”

“别被K字签证迷惑了，”陈澍说。“没错，K字签证是为了引进外国专家，但你引进外国专家的目的是为了推动自己的议程，而这最终归根结底是为了实现自力更生。”