On 9-14 October 2011, School Director Irina Alexeeva and professor Liang Cui Zheng made their first visit to the Shanghai School of Interpreting and Translation at the Shanghai University of International Studies. The delegation learned about the activities and resources of the Shanghai School and attended several classes.

During the visit the parties exchanged opinions about training interpreters and found similar features in their methodics. The delegation also visited the Translation Theory Research Center at the SISU where Xia Chang Zheng – a scholar of authority in the theory of translation – offered a review of their latest works on the history, theory and methodology of translation. He specially mentioned the contribution of Russian scholars in the field, drawing out a volume of research dedicated to the theoretical findings in Russia. St Petersburg School was invited to contribute to the scientific journal on the theory of translation. Official meetings with the Shanghai School administration and staff resulted in an agreement to organize a joint conference on methodology of interpreting and translation in St Petersburg in 2012.