Among the first foreign scholarships programs implemented at HEC, the scheme was advertised in leading national newspapers in April 2004 and also placed on the HEC website simultaneously. In the first batch, a total of 35 scholars were selected and were sent to five leading universities in China.

In the next year i.e. 2005, 5 more candidates were selected and proceeded to Beijing while in the third year i.e. 2006, 8 more candidates were selected and left for Beijing. The project is now closed for further selection while 13 graduates have completed their PhD around July 2007 and have returned to Pakistan between July – September 2007 and have joined their parent organizations.