Changwon Special City Signs Friendship and Exchange Cooperation Agreements with Two Chinese Cities

Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam signed international friendship and exchange city agreements with Yantai in Shandong Province and Daqing in Heilongjiang Province, China, over two days from the 20th to the 21st.

Group commemorative photo of Daegyeong City 05.

Jang Geumyong, First Vice Mayor and head of the Changwon delegation, signed a friendship exchange agreement with Zhang Zixin, Vice Mayor of the Yantai Municipal People's Government. Despite the impact of COVID-19, this agreement has laid an important foundation for a new leap forward in their relationship.

In 2016, Changwon invited 10 Chinese cities to host the "Changwon and Chinese Local Governments Economic and Tourism Cooperation Conference," with Yantai from Shandong Province participating. On April 8, 2016, the two cities signed a letter of intent for friendship and exchange and have actively continued exchanges online even during the COVID-19 pandemic. With this recent invitation from Yantai, they have finally signed a formal friendship exchange agreement.

With Daqing in Heilongjiang Province, exchanges began in 2015 through the recommendation of the 21C Korea-China Exchange Association. When a Changwon delegation visited Daqing and proposed friendship exchange, both cities continued their interactions online despite the difficult COVID-19 period, eventually leading to this agreement.

Yantai has a population of 7.1 million, an area of 13,739 km², and consists of four districts, seven cities, and one county. It is the economic core city of Shandong Province, with key industries including green petrochemicals, automobiles, advanced equipment, electronic information, aerospace, clean energy, and artificial intelligence. Blessed with natural resources, it boasts a beautiful 909 km coastline and is the largest advanced fishery base. Yantai also produces the largest quantities of apples, grapes, and cherries in China, with apple production at 5.7 million tons and cherries at 380,000 tons.

Daqing in Heilongjiang Province has a population of 3.2 million, an area of 21,219 km², and consists of five districts, three counties, and one autonomous county. It is China's number one oil-producing city and ranks fourth in the world for oil production. After oil field development began in 1959, the city was named Daqing, meaning "great celebration."

Vice Mayor Jang stated, "Through this visit, I witnessed the economic potential and natural environment of Yantai and Daqing, confirming that there is significant room for cooperation with both cities. If we pursue close cooperation not only in human and material exchanges but also in various economic fields, we will become excellent partners on the international stage."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.