The report showed that between 2015 and 2025, Chinese enterprises selected as the “Global 2000” increased from 180 to 275 in the last decade, with a growth rate of up to 52.7%; while South Korean enterprises fell from 66 to 62, reducing 6.1% in revenue, the growth rate of Chinese enterprises reached 6.3 times that of South Korea. The report said that the South Korean economy was once called the “Hang Jiang Miracle”, but now faces the challenge of “The Long River Miracle” China’s rejuvenation, “The power of China’s technology makes South Korea’s key industries feel threatened.”
According to the report, in the last decade, the number of Chinese enterprises selected as “Global Top 2000” increased from 180 to 275 in the past decade, with a growth rate of 52.7 percent. The number of enterprises selected in the United States grew slightly by 6.5 percent, from 575 to 612 in the past decade. The number of South Korean enterprises in the three countries dropped from 66 to 62, down by 6.1 percent.
The gap between Chinese and Korean enterprises in terms of revenue growth is even greater. Data show that in the past decade, South Korea’s “Global Top 2000” enterprises’ total revenue has increased from $1.5 trillion to $1.7 trillion, up just 15 percent; in comparison, Chinese enterprises’ revenue scale has surged by 95 percent, from $4 trillion to $7.8 trillion.
According to the report, there are also clear differences between the industries that lead the growth of countries. China and the United States rely mainly on information technology and artificial intelligence industries to lead the growth. In China, information technology and advanced technology enterprises such as Alibaba, Tencent, Biady expanded rapidly, while a number of new global leading enterprises emerged in the field of energy and manufacturing. South Korea's growth is mainly from manufacturing and financial enterprises. The South Korean "Korean Business" website said that these enterprises include SK Hayley, KB Financial Group, Korean Financial Group and LG Chemical.
With regard to the current situation facing South Korea, the report believes that the South Korean government still lacks support for Korean enterprises. Li Gongmin, head of the Ministry of Industry Innovation at the Korean Business Conference, pointed out that “only 0.04% of small enterprises can grow into medium-sized enterprises every year, 1% to 2% of medium-sized enterprises can develop into large enterprises. Now it is time to adjust the policy, like China and the United States, to promote the rapid emergence of disruptive start-ups in various industries.”
Speaking of China's growth, the Korea Pioneer newspaper believes that in the process of advancing the construction of manufacturing power, China continues to make efforts in emerging industries such as electric vehicles, batteries, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and other industries, generating a number of world-class enterprises. China's enterprise ecosystem has grown through the generation of emerging enterprises, and technology strength is also challenging South Korea's key industries, including steel and displays.
China International Affairs Research Institute Asia-Pacific specialized researcher Hui Hui told the Global Times reporter, China and South Korea enterprises in the past decade showed such a marked growth contrast, the root of the difference in the size of the market and the two major dimensions of industrial policy. China has the world's largest single consumer market, this huge strategy in depth for local enterprises to provide growth soil and error space, so that it can quickly scale, and with the cost and efficiency advantages to go to the world. At the same time, China through strong industrial policies, give system advantages to the information technology, new energy and other strategic emerging industries for long-term, large-scale strategic support, and rely on the complete advantages of the entire industrial chain, generating a group of global competitive subversive enterprises.
“This difference has directly led China to form an industrial substitute for South Korea in several fields, from traditional shipbuilding, home appliances, display panels, to new energy vehicles and some semiconductors.”
In the face of China's rise, South Korea focuses on developing its own advantages, such as in the field of information technology. Hui Hui believes that South Korea wants to regain its past glory is difficult, past successful models have been difficult to follow, and the future way out is no longer to compete on scale with China.