Tianjin and Thessaloniki are friendly associated on March, 4th, in 2002. Thessaloniki is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the Greek region of Macedonia. According to the 2001 census, the municipality of Thessaloniki had a population of 363,987. The city area is 93.174km2. Thessaloniki is Greece's second major economic, industrial, commercial and political centre, and a major transportation hub for the rest of southeastern Europe; its commercial port is also of great importance for Greece and its southeast European hinterland. The city hosts an annual International Trade Fair, the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, and the largest bi-annual meeting of the Greek diaspora. Thessaloniki retains several Ottoman and Jewish structures as well as a large number of Byzantine architectural monuments. Thessalon¨ªki is a major port city and an industrial and commercial centre. The city's industries centre around oil, steel, petrochemicals, textiles, machinery, flour, cement, pharmaceuticals, and liquor. Being a free port, the city functions as the gateway to the Balkan hinterland. The city is also a major transportation hub for the whole of south-eastern Europe, carrying, among other things, trade to and from the neighbouring countries. A considerable percentage of the city's working force is employed in small- and medium-sized businesses as well as in the service and the public sectors. In recent years, the city has begun a process of deindustrialisation and a move towards a service based economy. A spate of factory shut downs has occurred in order to take advantage of cheaper labour markets and more lax regulations. Among the largest companies to shut down factories are Goodyear,AVEZ (the first industrial factory in northern Greece built in 1926),and VIAMIL (¦¢¦©¦¡¦¬¦´¦«). |
