The modern world educational space is undergoing significant transformations. In the current situation universities in Russia and Ekaterinburg, in particular, are faced with the need to analyze the existing and find new options for international interaction. In this case, the development of partnership and academic mobility with the countries of Asia and the East becomes more relevant.We conducted a quantitative and qualitative study of the potential of Yekaterinburg universities to attract students from SCO countries. The method of in-depth expert interview was used to interview 30 specialists from international departments of Yekaterinburg city universities, this article presents the data of qualitative analysis. The research funding from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (Ural Federal University Program of Development within the Priority-2030 Program) is gratefully acknowledged.This article focuses on the interaction between Russia and China in the framework of educational cooperation, as it is the Chinese students in Russia the most numerous group of students from the SCO countries. In the course of the research we obtained results that show the deterioration of the general situation with the enrollment of foreign students, with the difficulties they encounter as a result of enrollment in universities in Yekaterinburg. The results of our research show that the general situation with the enrollment of foreign students is worsening.