On 27 November, SPbGASU was visited by a delegation from the China State Construction Engineering Corporation and the Russian Academy of Engineering.

The delegation held negotiations with representatives of the SPbGASU top management team, during which the participants exchanged information about their organizations and discussed directions for the development of mutually beneficial relations.

On behalf of the SPbGASU rector Evgeny Rybnov, the First Vice-Rector Svetlana Golovina greeted the meeting participants. According to her, SPbGASU is bound by cooperation agreements with Henan Urban Planning University and Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology. Currently, more than 100 students from the People's Republic of China are studying at SPbGASU, including 17 PhD students. The Russian language preparatory program is in great demand among Chinese students. In the coming academic year, the university for the first time announced the implementation of an additional educational program for Russian students to study the Chinese language.

Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs Sergey Mikhailov spoke about the successes of the university. Under the auspices of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, SPbGASU is implementing two innovative educational projects with the status of a federal innovation platform. As part of one of them, the university is developing an innovative methodology for developing digital professional competencies. As part of the second, an innovative methodology is being created that forms a safe behavioral model on construction sites. Teachers and graduates made a huge contribution to shaping the appearance of St Petersburg and took part in the design and construction of significant facilities. Foreign students are surrounded by care: the university has created an infrastructure to support them.

Chairman and Deputy Chief Architect Pan Qizhong informed about the China State Construction Engineering Corporation. It is one of the leading investment and construction corporations with rich professional experience, a long history in the market, a high degree of integration and a wide scale of activities both in China and abroad.

Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Engineering Valery Tyan shared the background of the visit, which began with the idea of ​​building a pilot section of the road with Chinese investments, technologies and equipment. But the range of interests of the Chinese side turned out to be wider. The speaker pointed out the language barrier as the main obstacle to the implementation of new projects and ideas: professionals often do not speak the language, and those who speak the language do not speak the subject. Valery Tyan called for joint efforts to train construction personnel and invited the meeting participants to make presentations at the forum in China in May 2024.

The parties expressed their intention to develop a memorandum of cooperation.