South Korean media: "The era when China chased South Korea has ended!"
On April 2nd, the South Korean newspaper "Hankyoreh" published an article stating, "After visiting the smartphone exhibition halls of Xiaomi, Honor, and Huawei, and then visiting the Samsung Electronics exhibition hall, it feels like walking into a mobile phone store in Seoul's Gangnam Station. The difference in technological innovation is obvious."
This was said by a South Korean government official at the MWC 2025 held last month in Barcelona, Spain. At the exhibition, the global trend of about 300 Chinese companies such as Huawei, Xiaomi, ZTE, and China Telecom leading the global technology trend was very evident. Companies from China were once classified as "rapid followers," but now they have demonstrated leading technologies in almost all fields, including network infrastructure, AI chips, electric vehicles, and XR devices.
Over the past decade, South Korea has been trapped in the "China catch-up" framework. But now, reality must be faced. China is no longer catching up; they have surpassed South Korea and are fully committed to mastering global markets and technological leadership.
Cho Sung-dae, vice president of Samsung Electronics' MX division, also stated at the press conference, "Regardless of whether it is a Chinese phone or phones from other countries, we test all new products that come out. If there is anything worth learning, I will think about how to reflect it." This is a symbolic statement from South Korean companies acknowledging China as a "benchmark" target.
The most impressive part of this exhibition was that Chinese enterprises turned U.S. technology sanctions into an advantage. Huawei unveiled the world's first humanoid robot "Kua Fu" based on 5G-A, stunning visitors. Xiaomi launched its high-end smartphone "Xiaomi 15 Ultra" priced at 1499 euros, which is more expensive than Samsung Galaxy. Additionally, they unveiled the supercar-level electric vehicle "SU7 Ultra" with a top speed of 350 kilometers per hour. Moreover, smartphone manufacturer Honor announced an ambitious plan to invest $10 billion over the next five years to become a global artificial intelligence ecosystem company. Their goal is to establish an independent ecosystem that does not rely on American components and technology.
This is not all. Interestingly, there is one company that, although without a showroom, shone brightly at MWC. This is China's "DeepSeek". DeepSeek has already deeply integrated into China's technology ecosystem. At least 30 Chinese companies, including Huawei, have begun developing devices embedded with DeepSeek. If the U.S. continues to restrict NVIDIA chip exports to China, the launch speed of servers combining DeepSeek and China's AI chips is expected to accelerate further. China is likely to significantly reduce its reliance on NVIDIA and U.S.-centered AI semiconductor companies, completing its own AI ecosystem.
The lesson from this exhibition is clear. South Korea should break free from the competitive framework of "leading China" and focus on what only South Korea can do. Just as Apple did not simply compete on technology but built a high-end brand experience, South Korean companies should provide differentiated user experiences combining technology, brand, and service.
Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1828275070889988/
Disclaimer: The article solely represents the views of the author.