The development of cultural ties and cooperation between Russia and China in the field of education correlates with the current strategy of internationalization of Russian universities. Many Russian universities today tend to develop partnerships with Chinese universities. In particular, the number of Chinese students studying in Russian universities constantly increases; academic exchange programs are successfully implemented, the number of scientific contacts between representatives of universities of the two countries grows. The implementation of such cooperation is accompanied by problems of social and cultural interaction in the field of education of Russian and Chinese students.
The general purpose of the study was to identify the axiological component in the interaction of Russian and Chinese students in the space of the Russian university.
Chinese students who study in Yekaterinburg universities (390 people), Russian students who study/live with Chinese (500 people), 10 Chinese experts, 10 Russian experts in the field of education in Russia and China were interviewed.
The results suggest that the Russian students find the values of hedonistic nature – love and pleasure – to be more important than the Chinese ones, while the Chinese students consider study and personal security to be most important (and this is determined by the goals of coming to Russia and the conditions of staying in the territory of a foreign country). Nevertheless, it cannot be said that the values of students from the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China differ radically and may interfere with the productive socio-cultural interaction between them. Besides, the great importance of such values as world peace and love of country for Chinese students can be the basis for attracting them to participate in the activities of patriotic and cultural student associations that already exist in the Ural universities.
The practical significance of the results obtained is that the identified problems of socio-cultural interaction between Chinese and Russian students make it possible to develop technologies for optimizing the socio-cultural interaction of foreign students in Russian universities, which is especially important in the initial stages of their education in Russia. Among the recommendations for optimizing the process of entering Chinese students into Russian universities (in addition to Russian language classes) are joint Russian-Chinese leisure and holiday events, joint social student associations (volunteering, tourism, music, etc.), excursion programs aimed at acquaintance with the culture of the host country, the joint interaction of Russian and Chinese students in social networks and messenger apps.