Geography

The region is located in the southeast of France on the shores of the Mediterranean.
 
Capital: Marseilles
 
Governor: Michel Vauzelle
 
Landspace and Population

Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur covers a land area of 31,399 K©O, 5.7% of the total land. With a total population of 4.5 million, the region is the third most populous in France, representing 7.7% of the national population.
 
History and Culture

Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur is well-known both historically and culturally. Marseilles, capital of the region, is the oldest city with over 2600 years history. Marseilles is also famous for the song "La Marseillaise" sung by the revolutionary army during the French Revolution. Marseilles was the place where the early Chinese revolutionary forerunners, such as Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping and Chen Yi first set foot on France to begin their overseas study while work a part-time job and explore the way to save their motherland. There are many historical relics, such as Avignon which is a famous Catholic Church city. The "blue coastline" around Nice is a well-known holiday resort in Europe. What's more, the impressionist artist Van Gogh, Matisse and Picasso used to live and create artistic work in the region.
 
Economy and Industry

The GDP Per Capita is USD 24,000. With a strong service sector (80% of employment), the region is characterized by a large number of small businesses, appr. 55,000 (fewer than 10 employees each, accounting for 90% of the region's economic fabric). Industry (11% of the work force), with a concentration around Marseilles, Toulon and Nice, is predominantly represented by two thriving sectors: agrofood and chemical industry. The region is also at the cutting edge in the field of business-oriented research and development activities. Microelectronics (at Rousset), information and communication industries, multimedia, biotechnology, and aerospace (Eurocopter) are all sectors enjoying rapid growth. Tourism is the traditional strength of the region, its revenue accounting for 8% of the regional total. It ranks first in terms of the number of domestic tourists and second in terms of international visitors (35 million visitors per year on average) (Source: DATAR).
 
Establishment of Sister Province/State Relationship

Establishment of Sister Province Relationship on May 24, 2000, Mr. LU Rihua, Governor of Guangdong and Mr. Michel Vauzelle, President of the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur Region signed the Agreement to establish the Sister Province/Region Relationship in Guangzhou.
 
Friendly Exchanges

The friendly relations with Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur began in 1985. Throughout these years, exchanges were conducted in personnel, economic and trade, culture, exhibition and education. GD provincial leadership, such as CPC Party Secretary Mr. LI Changchun; Chairman of GD People's Congress, Mr. ZHU Senlin; Deputy Party Secretary, Mr. ZHANG Guoying; Vice Governor, Mr. LU Zhonghe visited Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur Region one after another. On the other hand, the Region's leaders Mr. Pezet and Mr. Vauzelle had visited GD. Regarding business cooperation, GD imported from GEMPLUS company the IC (Intelligent Card) system, which is now widely used in telecommunication, banking, transport sector and electronic toll system of power sector in GD. GD Post Office introduced the automatic letter-sorting system from CYBERNETIX Company of France. SGS Thomson set up a joint venture with Shenzhen. Regarding education exchanges, the Zhongshan(Sun Yat-sen) University of Guangdong Province and Aix-Marselle III and Nice Medical College of France established inter-university cooperation relationship. Entering the new century, new areas for cooperation have been specified in technology, Information Industry, culture and education.

Editor: Catherine