At 103, the Russian is exactly 100 places lower in the WTA world rankings than the 2012 Wimbledon finalist, and the match was over in a little more than an hour.
The only other seed in action on Thursday, Puerto Rican Monica Puig, also had a straight sets win, disposing of Spain's Lara Arruabarrena 6-4, 6-2.
Low-ranked American Alison Riske, the world number 56 whose victory at the 2014 Tianjin Open remains her only WTA Tour title, continued her quest for a repeat, beating Poland's Magda Linette 6-3, 7-6 (7/2).
China has hosted an increasing number of WTA tournaments as it seeks more clout in the game.
The Tianjin Open carries a total prize purse of $426,750, according to the WTA's website.