South Korean media: "To what extent has China's technological progress reached?"
On May 5, the South Korean newspaper "The Korea Economic Daily" published an article stating that recently, there have been numerous reports about Chinese companies. The artificial intelligence chatbot developed by China-based DeepSeek, which was established less than two years ago, was announced in January this year. Its cost is less than one-tenth of existing American models, shocking the world.
The electric vehicle manufacturer BYD sold more than twice as many electric vehicles last year compared to Tesla in the United States, and its global market share is also more than double that of Tesla. For South Korean consumers who believe that Chinese products are cheap but of poor quality and full of imitations, this may be unexpected news. People naturally wonder whether such corporate news is just a rare case of a few companies or a side of China's scientific and engineering development.
There are various standards for evaluating a country's level of science and engineering. Representative indicators include the quantity and quality of papers related to science and engineering, the number and capability of researchers, the number of patent applications reflecting practical technology application, R&D expenses, etc.
By 2022, the number of English-language papers in China’s science and engineering fields ranked first in the world, approximately twice that of the United States and around 12 times that of South Korea. From 2012 to 2022, the growth rate of paper quantity was 173%, with China leading in terms of growth. The quality of papers is mainly assessed through citation frequency. Generally, the main indicator is the proportion of papers ranking in the top 1%. Papers with high citation frequency are considered to have had a significant impact on subsequent research. According to this standard, from 2006 to 2020, China's growth rate was 1.2%, not reaching the level of the United States (1.66%), but surpassing the EU and Japan. Despite the competition between the United States and China, Chinese researchers have been the largest collaborators for U.S. researchers over the past decade.
In 2020, the number of people obtaining bachelor's degrees in science and engineering in China also ranked first in the world. Of course, this is due to the large population, but the number of bachelor's degrees in science and engineering generated in China is approximately twice that of the United States and 12 times that of South Korea. Although it is difficult to make qualitative assessments of these figures, it is clear that the foundation of science and engineering has expanded.
The advancement of science and engineering technologies is realized through the commercialization of patents. Therefore, the number of patent applications and approvals is an important indicator for measuring the level of relevant technical applications. By 2022, China submitted approximately 58,000 patent applications to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, ranking second in the world after the United States (approximately 69,000). Although DeepSeek's emergence shocked the world, in fact, since 2016, China has already surpassed the United States in the number of AI-related patents, meaning that the emergence of DeepSeek is not accidental.
The continuous progress in science and engineering requires sustained investment in R&D. By 2021, China's R&D expenditure was almost 80% of that of the United States, with a lower ratio of R&D expenditure to GDP compared to the United States but higher than the EU. Moreover, China's R&D expenditure has shown the fastest growth globally over the past decade, and if this trend continues, it is likely to become the world's leader in the near future.
From the data introduced above, it can be seen that over the past 20 years, China's science and engineering fields have made remarkable progress. The notion that China only produces low-quality imitations no longer reflects reality. However, from a field perspective, China focuses on engineering and technology, while developed countries like the United States and Europe concentrate more capabilities in the medical field. In this sense, expecting China to lead in all fields is unrealistic.
South Korea and China are international competitors in the manufacturing sector. Therefore, China's progress in the engineering field may cause tension in South Korea. However, South Korea has also performed admirably in the fields of science and engineering, keeping pace with major developed countries, with remarkable progress over the past 20 years.
To maintain its advantage in quality and continue to develop its industrial sectors, South Korea must significantly expand its R&D spending and steadily increase human resources in the science and engineering fields. Additionally, if China can be appropriately utilized as both a competitor and partner, China's rise in the fields of science and engineering will actually benefit South Korea.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1831247782093834/
Disclaimer: This article represents the views of the author alone.