Russia is increasingly perceived as an attractive academic destination for Chinese students, especially as the United States tightens visa screening amid national security and commercial espionage concerns.
Moscow has seized this opportunity, reinforced by the strategic alliance between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Valery Falkov, Russia’s Minister of Science and Higher Education, said during a visit to China between August 21 and 26 that more than 56,000 Chinese students are enrolled at Russian universities in the 2024–2025 academic year, with over 21,000 Russian students studying in China.
“We are proud that tens of thousands of Chinese households are opting for our higher education system,” Falkov said. “We, together with our Chinese colleagues, are striving to achieve the figure of 100,000 in terms of student exchange. This task is of key importance for mutual understanding between our peoples, for our political, economic, and social ties.”
He stressed that visa applications from Chinese students to Russian consulates had doubled in just two years, reflecting strong demand.
“Tens of thousands of Chinese families are voting with their yuan, expressing trust in our education system,” he said, adding that the exchange is reciprocal, as 500 to 1,000 Russian students annually receive scholarships to study in China.
This trend unfolds amid a global educational landscape traditionally dominated by four Western destinations: the US, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.
Rising costs, visa hurdles and security-related vetting are now prompting some Chinese students to explore alternatives closer to home – particularly Russia, which offers affordability, cultural affinity, and political alignment.
Over 200 joint educational programs are active, including 115 bachelor’s and master’s degree offerings. A notable example is Shenzhen MSU-BIT University, established in 2017 through collaboration between Moscow State University and Beijing Institute of Technology – an academic hub for Sino-Russian exchange.
Falkov highlighted plans for a joint Institute for Fundamental Research to open collaboration in mathematics, physics, chemistry, Earth sciences, and life sciences. Complementing this, draft intergovernmental agreements on educational cooperation and mutual recognition of diplomas and scientific degrees are nearing finalization.
He said such accords “will give a powerful impetus to the development of Russian-Chinese cooperation in science and education.”
In Russia, top-tier universities such as Moscow State and Tomsk State continue to be recognized for their technical excellence in engineering, applied sciences and mathematics while maintaining significantly lower tuition compared with their Western peers.
Falkov’s comments came after Mao Ning, a spokesperson of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on August 22 urged the US to stop groundless interrogations, harassment and repatriation of Chinese students arriving in the US.
Mao said many Chinese students arriving in the US went through unfair treatment and were taken into small separate rooms for extended interrogation. She said some students’ visas were even revoked, and they were banned from entering the country after being told they “might endanger national security.”
US media reported on Monday that a 22-year-old Chinese philosophy student surnamed Gu was deported from the US in August – even though he held a valid visa, was on a full scholarship to the University of Houston and had prior exchange experience at Cornell.
After being interrogated for more than 36 hours upon arrival, Gu was sent back to China and barred from reentry for five years – a stark reminder of the gap between US President Donald Trump’s public pledge to welcome students and the harsher realities at the border.
Trump’s student pledge
After Beijing complained about the unfair treatment against Chinese students at US borders, Trump on August 26 pledged to admit 600,000 Chinese students into the US.
This figure would more than double the 277,398 Chinese students in the US during the 2023–24 school year, who already represented the largest group of international students and contributed over $14 billion annually to the US economy.
These students pay international tuition fees, which are usually three or four times the fees for local students.
Trump said international students are very important to US schools as “the bottom 15% of colleges would go out of business” without them.
In early April, Trump announced worldwide reciprocal tariffs. Beijing retaliated with tariffs and other measures. These prompted the US to stop issuing visas for Chinese students. Officials from both countries de-escalated the situation in June. Now Trump prefers welcoming more Chinese students.
“Exchanges and cooperation on education help enhance interactions and understanding between all countries,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said in Beijing on August 27. “We hope the US will act on Trump’s commitment to welcoming Chinese students to study in the country, stop groundlessly harassing, interrogating or repatriating them and earnestly protect their legitimate and lawful rights and interests.”
Many Chinese commentators remain skeptical about Trump’s latest comments. They noted that in May, the US revoked visas for students – particularly those who study sensitive subjects. This highlighed the volatile nature of policy shifts.
“The US accused Chinese students of being spies but then it begged them to come to study,” a commentator using the pseudonym name “Ten-year Tree” says in an article published on iFeng.com. “This is hypocrisy.”
In recent years, the US has intensified screening for Chinese PhD applicants in aerospace, AI, quantum and semiconductor fields – areas deemed of strategic concern. That has making admissions in these high-tech disciplines more uncertain.
Observers say such barriers may persist as bipartisan US lawmakers are anxious over technological competition between the US and China.
Russia’s educational limits
While unfavorable student visa policy may discourage Chinese students to study in the US, not all of those students can find what they want in Russia.
Data from the Education Export Center revealed that 31% of Chinese students in Russia study the Russian language, 22% economic management and 29% other humanities. Only 18% are in technical, medical or natural sciences – meaning that about 82% focus on humanities/social sciences, with more than half concentrated in language and management.
This distribution diverges from Russia’s academic strengths, such as aerodynamics, particle physics, petroleum refininglags and the arts. However, Russia lags behind the West in the fields of semiconductors and industrial software.
Xu Xiaoyu, a columnist for the People’s Liberation Army Daily, says that many students prioritize professional pathways aligned with national needs. For example, fluency in Russian and management expertise allow them to serve in firms in Russia and Eurasia.
He says Russia meets the needs of students seeking stability, affordability and access to business networks rather than frontier scientific training. He says studying in Russia will remain a gateway to Sino-Russia bilateral opportunity, not a substitute for the cutting-edge innovation of US or UK institutions.
Read: Why Trump shouldn’t open the floodgates to Chinese students
Read: US moving to revive China Initiative targeting espionage
