On June 6th, a delegation from South Ural State University headed by Vice-Rector for Education Marina Potapova opened the Research, Education and Coordination Centre "Institute of Open Education in the Russian Language named after A.S. Pushkin" at Heihe University. These centres are being opened within the frameworks of the "One Belt, One Road" China-Russia initiative.
The nearest plans include holding advanced training courses for teachers of the Russian language and teachers conducting classes in Russian, advanced training for representatives of enterprises and businesses of Heilongjiang Province. The Centre will also promote the development of China-Russia projects of the Heihe Free Trade Zone.
The new centre should become a language platform, a point for cultural, academic, and trade-and-economic exchange between the two countries. The universities reached an agreement on organizing language training for students of the natural sciences, tourism and philology academic programmes. Another growth point will be the creation of a joint China-Russia jurisprudence laboratory.
Heihe University is located in Heihe City, Heilongjiang Province, known as the "Pearl of the North". It is located near the third largest city in the Russian Far East − Blagoveshchensk. Since 2003, Heihe University began to accept Russian students, providing highly qualified Chinese talents for exchange between China and Russia. Cooperation with South Ural State University has been in progress since 2011. Today, the universities implement a number of joint Bachelor's degree programmes in tourism and philology, and collaborate within the frameworks of the "Pushkin Institute" events.