The author in their article analyzes the interstate cooperation of Russia, Mongolia, and China within Inner Asia in the area of higher education. Inner Asia is a unique geostrategic space, within the boundaries of which stable ties are formed that determine the nature of trilateral relations between the aforementioned states. The study focuses on the historical conditions that determined the substantive lines of interstate interaction in the 20th - first quarter of the 21st century. Of particular importance in trilateral relations was the educational cooperation between the USSR, the Mongolian People’s Republic and the People’s Republic of China during the middle of the last century. The development of the educational system and the socio-economic assistance of the Soviet Union gave impetus to the modernization processes in Mongolia and China. In the evolution of interstate interaction in the field of higher education between the countries, it is possible to identify separate stages that have their own substantive features and chronology, which depend on bilateral relations at the highest level. In the early 21st century, the content and nature of relations in the field of education between the countries changed. The main factors became the internationalization of education, as well as changes in the foreign policy of China, which began to actively promote its culture and language, including in Inner Asia. The main actors were the State Office for the Promotion of Chinese Abroad (汉办), as well as the universities and the Government of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China. Inner Mongolia universities implement a number of programs aimed at teaching Chinese to schoolchildren and students from Russia and Mongolia and hosted cultural events. In current interstate interaction, of great significance is the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor, initiated by the Chinese government. Thus, Inner Asia is regaining its geostrategic importance in interstate relations.