INRTU and Beijing Foreign Studies University signed agreements
INRTU and Beijing Foreign Studies University signed a memorandum of cooperation and a student exchange agreement. The signing took place in Beijing during the official visit of the INRTU delegation to the People's Republic of China.
The document was signed by Mikhail Korniakov, Rector of INRTU, and Li Hai, Secretary of the Party Committee of Beijing Foreign Studies University.
The agreement provides Russian and Chinese students with the opportunity to study under exchange programs in all disciplines and specializations offered by the partner universities. Both universities also agreed to develop cooperation in the field of joint scientific research and to facilitate the transfer of technologies developed by both parties.
Welcoming the Irkutsk delegation, Li Hai, Secretary of the Party Committee of Beijing Foreign Studies University, noted that his university is the first higher education institution of foreign languages established by the Communist Party of China. Currently, the university teaches 101 foreign languages, covering all official languages of countries that have diplomatic relations with China. According to the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026 in Linguistics, Beijing Foreign Studies University ranks 66th in the world. The Chinese university has partnership agreements with more than 300 universities and research institutions from 80 countries.
Beijing Foreign Studies University is proud of its history and achievements. Over 85 years, it has trained a large number of outstanding specialists in the fields of diplomacy, foreign relations, foreign economic affairs, and foreign trade. Among the university's graduates, more than 500 have served as Chinese ambassadors abroad, and more than 3,000 have held counselor positions. Of the current Chinese ambassadors serving in more than 180 countries, 65 are graduates of Beijing Foreign Studies University.
Secretary of the Party Committee Li Hai emphasized that the university has a high degree of internationalization; currently, over 1,300 international students are studying there, and more than 200 foreign teachers are working. In total, the university has trained over 40,000 international students from more than 150 countries worldwide.
Secretary Li Hai stressed that the university attaches great importance to cooperation with Russian universities, maintaining stable ties with many higher education institutions in Russia. In his opinion, the official establishment of partnership relations between Beijing and Irkutsk technical universities is a starting point for fully leveraging the strengths of both sides and further advancing areas such as student exchange and mutual visits of faculty and staff.
During the meeting, the parties discussed that the rapid development of artificial intelligence poses completely new challenges to the higher education system in training specialists, including in foreign languages. In 2012, the Beijing University opened an AI laboratory focused on cutting-edge national tasks in the fields of artificial intelligence and education. Today, AI teaching is conducted in Chinese and English. Plans are underway to expand the number of languages to the 101 languages taught at the university. In 2025, a bachelor's program "Russian Language and Management, Big Data Applications" was launched.
Rector Mikhail Korniakov proposed sending Russian-language teachers from INRTU to study at Beijing Foreign Studies University to learn methods of applying AI in linguistic sciences, as well as inviting university graduates to work at INRTU.
The Rector of INRTU also noted that technical cooperation between Russia and China is actively developing and the demand for translators in the field of technical translation is growing.
"The capabilities of artificial intelligence make it possible to raise the quality of specialist training to a new level. We are interested in launching joint programs using AI in the fields of the Russian language, technical translation, and international business,"
The INRTU Rector Mikhail Korniakov said.
Stepan Bykov, Vice-Rector for International Affairs at INRTU, told his Chinese colleagues that a Chinese-language program has been launched within the Baikal School of BRICS, which is in high demand among Russian school graduates, and after the signing of the agreement, students now have the opportunity to come to Beijing Foreign Studies University for academic exchange programs.
At the end of the meeting, the parties expressed a common view that the combination of intellectual and methodological resources will open new horizons for training highly qualified specialists who combine linguistic knowledge with modern digital competencies.
