Artistic and creative development is an obligatory attribute of modern pianist education, which is convincingly reflected in the theory of musical pedagogy. However, in pedagogical practice, it is noticeably infringed. Therefore, the search for ways to activate it is extremely relevant, as it can fundamentally change the effectiveness of the education of musicians. There are many reasons for the insufficient creative development of pianists. But some of them are of strategic importance. In this case, we are talking about a violation of the conceptual principle of musical pedagogy “Unity of the artistic and technical with the leading artistic”. The purpose of the article is to analyze the reasons of insufficient musical and artistic development of pianists during their education in China and Russia. The methodology of the research is based on the division of studying pianists into amateurs and future professionals. To achieve it, an analysis of the target settings in the training of pianists, reflected in scientific research, was applied. Results: if we take the technical skill of pianists as a basis, then extreme positions on this issue are observed in the music schools of two well-known musicians in China: pianist Liu Shikun and Professor Liu Ninh. The first is characterized by a focus on the musical and artistic development of the child, the second – on high performance results necessary for professional training. These attitudes are quite justified in a specific situation. But the increased attention to the technical equipment of pianists, justified in the training of professional pianists, comes into sharp contradiction in the training of amateur pianists. The focus on the accentuated technical development of all pianists is a fundamental mistake in the piano pedagogy of China, as it automatically leads to the infringement of artistic development.