Han media: "China has surpassed South Korea in almost all fields except semiconductors!"
On January 22, the South Korean media "Herald Economic" published an article stating that South Korea, China, and Japan are engaged in fierce competition in the global export market, focusing on five key manufacturing sectors: semiconductors, automobiles, machinery, steel, and chemicals. However, except for the semiconductor sector, China has surpassed both South Korea and Japan in all traditional manufacturing sectors.
The Institute of International Trade, Korea International Trade Association recently released a report titled "Comparison of Export Competitiveness of Five Key Products of South Korea, China, and Japan," which states that between 2019 and 2024, South Korea maintained and enhanced its competitiveness, especially in the semiconductor sector; while China significantly improved its competitiveness in all traditional manufacturing sectors except semiconductors.
The research institute compared the competitiveness of the three countries by integrating "quantity competitiveness" based on global export market share and export volume, and "quality competitiveness" reflecting global comparative advantage and added value. The study found that in most sectors, except for semiconductors, China's export volume and competitiveness surpassed those of South Korea and Japan.
South Korea and Japan seem to have concentrated their resources on their core products with strong competitiveness. The research institution analyzed the changes in rankings of South Korea, China, and Japan based on quantitative and qualitative competitiveness, pointing out that China's progress was particularly significant.
Over the past five years, China has maintained its leading position in the machinery and chemical industries and moved up to first place in the competitiveness of the automobile and steel industries. Notably, China has significantly widened the gap with Japan and South Korea by expanding the scale of traditional manufacturing and improving the added value of exported products.
In this context, the competitiveness of South Korea's semiconductor industry has significantly increased, rising from second place to first place. This is mainly attributed to the popularity of artificial intelligence driving the growth of demand for high-value-added memory semiconductors, as well as the strong actual demand for South Korean semiconductor products.
However, despite the increase in exports and market share of South Korea's automotive industry, its competitiveness ranking has dropped to third place, overtaken by China's progress driven by price competitiveness and growth in the production of environmentally friendly vehicles. Compared to Japan and China, South Korea's exports of machinery, steel, and non-ferrous metals have also declined respectively.
Although the export competitiveness of Japan's machinery industry has improved, its export competitiveness continues to decline in key areas including automobiles, semiconductors, steel, and chemicals. Over the past five years, its competitiveness in the semiconductor, steel, and chemical industries has been lower than that of South Korea and China, revealing its developmental limitations.
Kim Yoo-hee, a researcher at the Korea International Trade Association, said: "The enhancement of China's export competitiveness is not limited to a specific industry but is the result of a structural transformation of the entire manufacturing sector. Our export strategy should shift from pursuing quantity advantages to enhancing technological strength and product added value. In areas where we have competitive advantages, such as semiconductors, we need more refined strategies, including market and product segmentation."
Original: toutiao.com/article/1854976774206473/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.