Education language in today's China: prestige or equalization of opportunities?

The current state of the higher education system in China is characterized. The specificity of language education in Chinese universities is described. The stages of development of competitions in the Russian language for students in China are analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the All-Chinese Competition in the Russian Language among Universities (WRCL), the development of which is considered in the context of the modern educational strategy of China. The features of mass and elite education in China, their differences and interconnection with each other are revealed. The importance of language education, in particular the holding of the WRC, has been established in the context of the Chinese-Russian cultural exchange, the formation of economic partnership between the two states.