The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the organization of the educational process in Russian universities. The object of the research is the experience of implementing e-education and the transition to distance technologies for continuing education of Chinese undergraduates in the Russian metropolitan university. Russian universities had the technical capabilities and used various electronic educational platforms. In the same time, the results of the survey showed a decrease in the satisfaction of Chinese full-time students when switching to distance learning. The study shows the significant factors that had a negative impact on the educational process using distance technology to teach Chinese undergraduates during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors have grouped these factors into five groups (technical, language, emotional, and financial, content of lecture). Identification of these factors made it possible to develop a program to improve the educational process and enhance the satisfaction of foreign students studying at Russian universities. © The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2020.