City introduction
As Ukraine's second-largest metropolitan city and the capital of Kharkivs’ka, Kharkiv is the principal industrial, technological and cultural center of Ukraine. It is situated in the northeast of Ukraine at the converging point of Kharkiv and Unda rivers. Kharkiv covers 303 square kilometers and has a population of 1.5 million. It is 470 kilometers east of the capital, Kiev.
Kharkiv is also the largest transport hub and industrial center in Ukraine, with 393 major industrial enterprises based there. The city is known for its highly developed machinery and metal manufacturing, as well as other hi-tech industries including automotive, electricity, agricultural machinery, space technology and manufacturing, and heavy-duty machinery.
Kharkiv and Jinan
Jinan and Kharkiv began contacts in 2002, when the Chinese city's government struck a deal with Ukraine's ministry of science and technology, and set up a Sino-Ukraine Science and Technology Park in a high-tech development zone in Jinan. It includes a branch of Ukraine's national air and space college, which is based in Kharkiv.
The sister city relationship was established in September 2004 to promote the development of both cities' economies, trade, culture, education, science and technology, and art through exchanges and cooperation achieved with the help of Ukrainian embassy.
In 2002, former Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma in 2002 led a delegation that attended the Innovation Zone's opening ceremony. The science and technology park is regarded as a top priority by the two countries. Delegations from Jinan have visited Ukraine many times to visit major science and technology companies and Kharkov is a key city in energy technology, new materials, biological medicine, electronic information with more than 100 projects seeking technical exchanges and cooperation. This marked a new era in cooperation between Shandong and Ukraine. The park and Kharkiv National University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and other institutes have contributed to the development of Jinan's navigation technology sector, including a drone.
Niu Hongen, deputy director of the National People's Congress of Jinan, and Xie Chuanren led an economic and trade delegation to Kharkiv, and a troupe of young dancers from Jinan competed in an international dance competition in Kharkiv. These exchanges deepened the friendship between the peoples of the two cities.
On July 31, 2006, the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries officially approved the established of a full sister city relationship between Jinan and Kharkiv. On May 23, 2007, this became a formal relationship.
