On March 11, 2021, a solemn ceremony of signing strategic partnership memoranda was held online. Irkutsk State University became one of the signing parties. The other parties were the Russian-Asian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RAUIE) and the Union of Western and Eastern Education (UWEE).

The signed memoranda define the main directions and forms of mutually beneficial cooperation in order to develop and support complex science-intensive projects, integration, promotion of high-tech and innovative developments in the domestic and foreign markets.

The memorandum with the Russian-Asian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs was signed by the President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Vitaly Mankevich (Moscow). The memorandum with the Union of Western and Eastern Education was signed by the head of the Union Yang Fei (China). On behalf of ISU, the signature was put by the rector Alexander Schmidt. The signing ceremony was attended by Minister Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in the Russian Federation, Head of the Science and Technology Department of the Chinese Embassy in the Russian Federation Sun Jian and Director for Science, Technology and Education of the Skolkovo Foundation Alexander Fertman.

Alexander Schmidt, Rector of ISU:

    - Irkutsk State University has a huge research potential in the field of Biology, Chemistry and Physics, there are world-class and mega-science developments. Of course, the university is interested in using the accumulated experience, while we are equally ready to adopt the advanced experience of our partners. I believe that the signing of memoranda between ISU, the Russian-Asian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, and the Union of Western and Eastern Education will become another important aspect that will allow us to strengthen scientific and technical cooperation between Russia and China.

The ceremony of signing the memoranda was held as part of a closed meeting "Scientific and technical cooperation between Russia and China as drivers of innovative development in the post-covid period", which was attended by representatives of the RAUIE, UWEE, the diplomatic corps, the Skolkovo Foundation, the Irkutsk Region Development Corporation, and ISU.