ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Tsinghua University Day, including exhibitions, book donations and seminars, was held in Russia's St. Petersburg State University on Friday as the two institutions have pledged to strengthen partnership.

Tsinghua University President Qiu Yong said in a speech that he hopes there will be "chemistry" between the two universities in their cooperation.

Tsinghua University and St. Petersburg State University signed an agreement on Wednesday in Moscow to jointly set up a Russia Institute in Tsinghua and use it to deepen cooperation in education, scientific research, training, and people-to-people exchanges.

The two elite institutions maintain a long-term partnership, and they inked a university-level cooperation deal in 2017 and a students exchange agreement in 2018. St. Petersburg State University Day was held in Tsinghua in November 2018.