Introduction. In 2026-2027, students from Russia and China will spend a year studying in each other's countries. According to officials from the Russian Federation, the Russian side began formulating an action plan in September 2025, which will pay special attention to projects aimed at young people and students. According to the authors of this article, it is necessary to strengthen scientific research in order to clarify the chronology of educational policy in the field of Russian-Chinese student exchanges. This will allow us to recognise existing successes and analyse past failures. This determines the relevance of this study. The purpose of the work is to study and summarize scientific views on the chronology of educational policy in the field of student exchanges in institutions of higher education in Russia and China, to develop the most historically correct division into stages. Materials and methods. When studying aspects of the history of academic exchanges of students, teachers and researchers between Chinese and Russian universities, the following methods were used: collection and analysis of information sources, historical periodization, comparison and generalization, analysis and synthesis, as well as identification of representative patterns of development of Russian-Chinese cooperation in higher education. The stages of the educational policy of Russia and China over a period of more than 100 years were clarified using a retrospective analysis of publications by Russian researchers. Based on a comparative analysis, the theoretical foundations of the chronology of student exchanges at different stages of interaction between countries, general and specific approaches to the practical organization of this process at the national level, and modern views on the topic were clarified. The most common problems of the history of the organization of these exchanges were systematized. Results. The current state of the problem was revealed, which made it possible to identify possible directions for further research of the chronology system of the student exchange process of the two countries. A three-stage periodization of the chronology of educational exchanges over the past 100 years is proposed and substantiated. A description is given of a qualitatively different fourth stage highlighted by the authors, which is currently being formed. The essence of the educational stages of the two countries' interstate exchanges was clarified. Thus, for Chinese citizens, at the first stage (1921-1930) it was military-political, at the second (1950-1962) it was technocratic, and at the third (1989-2019) it was massive. The quantitative indicators of Russian students' education at Chinese universities (including during the Soviet period) can be described as poorly studied in the scientific literature on student exchange programmes. Conclusion. In recent decades, a significant number of works have been devoted to the scientific analysis of various aspects of the development of this kind of interaction. However, despite the rather extensive elaboration of the topic, discussions continue among researchers on how to divide into stages of the development of historical chronology. The authors analyzed the main directions and forms of Russian-Chinese educational cooperation in the retrospect of 100 years. The article considers the history of student exchange development, the current state and further prospects for the development of bilateral relations between the two countries. The article describes the conditions under which the implementation of joint educational programs seems to be the most effective in the long term.