Has anyone heard of Whelfs Talent Group / China “Overseas Talent Program”? Legit or potentially a scam?

I was recently contacted out of the blue on LinkedIn by someone claiming to represent Whelfs Talent Group regarding a Chinese Overseas Talent Program / Qi Ming (QM) talent program.

They sent me a fairly professional-looking 13-page presentation after a video call. It says Whelfs is a Shanghai-based headhunting/HR company founded in 2007 and that the program is connected to attracting overseas STEM researchers/experts to China. The presentation claims the program was launched by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and describes various talent/subsidy schemes.
What makes me cautious is the application process. They are asking me to provide:

• CV/publication list
• Copy of passport
• Degree certificates from Bachelor's onwards
• Employment certificates

These are actually listed in the presentation as the required application materials.

When I questioned sending a passport copy, they said I could watermark the passport image, which is slightly reassuring, but everything so far has been conducted through LinkedIn messages only. I haven't received anything from an official company/government email address, no formal application portal, etc.

The program itself doesn't sound completely implausible given my research/STEM background, but obviously a passport + degrees + employment history is also an excellent identity-theft package, so I'm not sending anything sensitive until I've independently verified them.

Has anyone here:

1. Dealt with Whelfs Talent Group / 微服 before?
2. Been contacted for this particular Overseas Talent / QM / Qi Ming program?
3. Successfully applied through a third-party recruiter like this?
4. Know whether requesting passport copies at this stage is standard?
5. Know a reliable way of independently verifying that the recruiter/company is actually authorised to submit applications?

Thanks.