Cooperation between China and Russia in the field of higher vocational education within the framework of the "Belt and Road" Initiative

The subject of the research is the formation and development of Chinese-Russian partnership in the field of higher vocational education (HVE) in the context of the "Belt and Road" initiative. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the dynamics of the development of joint educational programs and institutions, the regional distribution of partnership projects in China, the structure of cooperation specializations, the characteristics of the two national HVE systems and their interaction, as well as identifying specific barriers and challenges that arise during the implementation of cross-border educational cooperation and its adaptation to the needs of the socio-economic integration of the two countries. As a result of the work, the main features of Chinese-Russian interaction in the field of HVE were identified: a significant increase in the number of joint projects (114 institutions and programs as of 2025), the concentration of cooperation in technical specialties (73.83% of the total volume), uneven regional distribution dominated by the provinces of Hubei, Shandong, and Henan, and the dominance of the educational model "language + skills." The research employed comprehensive methods: statistical analysis of official data on joint educational programs and institutions, comparative analysis of the Chinese and Russian HVE systems, empirical analysis of practical cases of cooperation, and synthesis of scientific publications on the research topic. The scientific novelty of the research lies in a comprehensive examination of cooperation in the field of HVE as an independent direction of Chinese-Russian educational partnership and in identifying specific problems conditioned by the characteristics of the HVE systems of the two countries. The main conclusions of this research are that Chinese-Russian cooperation in the field of HVE has a stable institutional basis and a pronounced strategic focus on meeting the needs of industrial modernization in both countries; however, coordinated solutions to systemic problems and adaptation of partnerships to rapidly changing economic and social conditions are required for effective development. Achieving the set goals for improving cooperation will allow HVE to become an important support for Chinese-Russian strategic partnership, ensuring the training of highly qualified cross-border specialists for the integration of economies and rapprochement of the peoples of both countries.