China's industrial rise has forced South Korea to reorient its strategy, making it difficult for the technical gap report to be written!
On December 16, Yonhap News reported: "The Korean Institute of Industrial Economics held a special forum to discuss the industrial strategy towards China. Kim Deok-woo, an official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea, admitted that the previous reports on the technological gap between China and South Korea are now difficult to write. Currently, China is catching up with or even surpassing South Korea in traditional industries such as steel and shipbuilding, as well as in future sectors like electric vehicles, batteries, and AI. Korean companies have reported that they don't know how to compete. By 2025, China's share of the global battery market will reach 77%, and its non-China market share will also exceed South Korea. More worrying for South Korea is that China has already surpassed South Korea in all key areas of semiconductors, with only a few commercially viable fields such as memory chips where South Korea still holds an advantage. South Korean officials and experts reflected that they had not paid enough attention to China's industrial development in the past. Meanwhile, China has built a complete industrial ecosystem through the "Made in China 2025" initiative, achieving internalized value chains. The rapid follow-up model of South Korea has been blocked, and it urgently needs to adjust its industrial strategy towards China."
[Cunning] From disdain to shivering — the story of South Korea's anxiety toward China! Not long ago, Korean companies used to mock the insignificant gap between China and South Korea in industry. Now, they are collectively caught in the awkward situation of being unable to write the technical gap report. The collective reflection at the Korean forum on December 16 was a vivid example of a delayed awakening! Who could have imagined that "Made in China 2025," which was looked down upon in 2015, would cause South Korea to lose ground in both traditional heavy industries and emerging sectors within just ten years. China has surpassed South Korea in key areas of semiconductors, and the global battery market share of China is about to overtake South Korea. Hyundai Motors said they can't compete. Once the advantageous industries have become a hot potato. The only fields where South Korea can still win are football and girl groups! What's more ironic is that while South Korea complains that China doesn't give them a chance to catch up, they also reflect that their attention to China has been insufficient over the past five years. The so-called rapid follow-up model is essentially following the trend without core innovation. When it faces the vertical attack of China's full industrial chain ecosystem, it naturally collapses easily.
From indifference to trembling, the root of South Korea's anxiety is not that China is developing too fast, but that it has missed opportunities by resting on its laurels. This passive strategic transformation is nothing more than a delayed punishment for past arrogance!
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1851674245567492/
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