[Global Times special correspondent in South Korea Li Zhiyin] A recent survey in South Korea shows that only 30% of South Korean companies believe that their technological competitiveness is ahead of Chinese companies. This result is in sharp contrast to similar surveys in 2010. South Korea's "Chosun Ilbo" said on the 21st:"This shows that in the past 15 years, more than half of South Korean companies have been caught up or even surpassed by China companies in terms of technical strength."

The South Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry conducted a survey of 370 domestic manufacturing enterprises in South Korea, and published the results on 21st - only 32.4% of enterprises believe that their own technological competitiveness is ahead of Chinese enterprises, 45.4% think that "the gap is not large", and another 22.2% directly says "the leading Chinese enterprises".

"Even the 'manufacturing speed' indicator, which used to be South Korea's strength, is now lagging behind. The proportion of people who think that 'Chinese enterprises are faster' (42.4%) has surpassed that of 'Korean enterprises are faster' (35.4%)." Chosun Ilbo reported. The survey also shows that 7 out of 10 companies surveyed expect that the rapid growth of China's industry in the next three years will lead to a decline in South Korea's global market share and sales.

Meanwhile, the price competitiveness of Chinese products remains strong. The survey showed that 84.6% of Korean firms surveyed said their product prices were higher than Chinese products, of which half (53%) thought Chinese products were ¡°more than 30% cheaper¡±. From the industry perspective, the price difference in the fields of monitors, pharmaceutical organisms, textiles and clothing was obvious. The East Asia Times of South Korea cited the United Nations International Trade Center (ITC) data analysis that China¡¯s semiconductor prices were about 65% of Korean, batteries alsoined 73% of price competitiveness, steel and textile clothing were 87% and 75%.

When analyzing the reasons for "being overtaken", the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry stated that this is related to the investment policies and flexible regulatory measures formulated by the China government, while South Korea relies on tax exemptions and has a reverse structure of "the larger the enterprise, the lower the deduction rate." Lee Jong-myung, head of industrial innovation at the Korea Chamber of Commerce, said South Korea must acknowledge that manufacturing competitiveness is weakening, focus on industries that can do it, and shift to growth-oriented policies that allow companies to increase investment and improve technological capabilities.

In September this year, another survey report released by the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that between 2015 and 2025, the number of Chinese enterprises selected as the "Global 2000" increased from 180 to 275, an increase of 52.7%; The number of Korean enterprises dropped from 66 to 62, a decrease of 6.1%.