The article presents a study on the relevance of the process of forming professional and value orientations in Chinese and Russian students in a university envi ronment. The aim of the study is to look at the issues of the formation of professional and value orientations in Chinese and Russian students in a university environment, to identify similarities and differences in approaches to solving the problem under study. The methodological substantiation is the determination of the specifics offorming students' professional and value orientations in China and Russia in the conditions of a university. A comparative analysis of the characteristics of vocational education in the PRC and the Russian Federation has been carried out. The criteria for analysis were as follows: the level ofprofessional education; the term of study in professional educational institutions; forms of vocational education; the frequency of the passage of the PC; quantitative and gender composition of citizens with higher education; sources offunding for vocational education; the legislative framework. Research methods used in the course of the work were analysis of scientific sources, generalization and synthesis of methodological literature on the issues under study. The novelty of the study lies in a comprehensive assessment of the empirical experience of forming professional and value orientations of Chinese and Russian students in a university setting. The practical significance is revealed in the phased study of the problem. At the first stage, an analysis was carried out at the level of the vocational education systems of the two states. At the second stage, the differences in the process under study at different levels were revealed, e.g. at the state, economic, social, educational levels, in the context of involving the scientific, pedagogical and student communities in resolving the issue. The prospect of the study is the development of practical recommendations for the formation ofprofessional and value orientations of university students, taking into account the best practical examples of professional education systems in China and Russia.