In 1919, he went to Hankou, China on the pretext of language practise before moving to Beijing in 1921 to take up a job with the local branch of the Russian Telegraph Agency.
[1] The following year, he became one of the first scholars of the Manchu section of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, under A. V.
[4] Pankratov was reportedly quite secretive about his exact activities while living in China, leading to speculation that he was involved in espionage.
Various people who knew Pankratov in the 1970s tell a story that he once visited Kumbum Monastery dressed in a monk's robe, carrying a revolver underneath.
[1] One later scholar suggests he may have played some role in Nicholas Roerich's schemes to increase Soviet influence in Tibet, perhaps as a liaison with the Panchen Lama.