Illustration: Chen Xia/GT
China’s rapid technological progress is prompting some South Korean companies to reassess how they engage with a market that is becoming increasingly innovation-driven. Kim Jong-moon, chief representative of the Korea Innovation Center, recently told the Yonhap News Agency that South Korean companies should take a more active part in major Chinese technology events, including the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, to gain a closer understanding of the latest developments in China’s technology and industrial landscape.
Kim said that if South Korean companies were to distance themselves from China’s industrial and supply chain networks, they would struggle to sustain their competitiveness. This is no throwaway remark. It exposes the flaws in some international narratives that have misread China’s technological trajectory and serves as a reminder to South Korean and other foreign companies that the opportunities created by China’s technological progress deserve serious attention.
As China’s technological development accelerates at a remarkable pace, its major technology exhibitions have evolved far more than mere showcases. They are where emerging technologies are unveiled, competition intensifies and industry trends take shape.
Kim noted that South Korean companies need to benchmark themselves against global and Chinese markets and quickly assess where their technologies stand.
As China’s technology sector advances, some international voices have responded with resistance, even fabricating a “China Shock 2.0” in an attempt to contain China’s technological progress. Such efforts are unlikely to succeed. A more pragmatic view is gaining ground: China’s technological rise will inevitably bring competition, but the more constructive response is to engage with that competition, adapt to it and use it to strengthen their own capabilities. As Kim put it, South Korean industry needs to confront the intensifying competitive landscape in the Chinese market.
South Korean companies remain competitive in Asia’s industrial landscape, particularly in areas such as semiconductors. Amid China’s rapid technological progress, it is encouraging to hear voices in South Korea calling for greater engagement with this competition. This makes clear that China’s technological development is not a zero-sum game in which one side’s gains come at another’s expense, but a large-scale proving ground where global technological capabilities can be tested and strengthened.
China and South Korea have developed close industrial links and complementary strengths in technological innovation and supply chains. Emerging areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and new energy continue to create opportunities for both sides to explore further cooperation and capture new growth potential.
The AI boom offers a case in point. South Korea’s information and communication technology (ICT) exports reached a six-month high in the first half of 2026, with shipments to the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong rising 141 percent year-on-year. The figures highlight the close connections between China and South Korea in AI-related technology supply chains.
Opportunities for cooperation are likely to grow further. China’s continued efforts to expand openness are also reflected in its technology sector, where major exhibitions have increasingly become platforms for global companies to exchange ideas, showcase innovations and assess emerging industry trends.
The country’s expanding technology exhibition landscape in 2026 – from the information technology expo in Shenzhen in April to a high-tech expo in Beijing in May, as well as the upcoming World Robot Conference in Beijing in August – reflects the rapid development of fields such as AI. These events highlight how technological progress and greater openness can advance alongside each other, creating more opportunities for international engagement.
China’s market is open, but the realities of competition within it can only be fully understood by those who take part. For South Korean and other foreign technology companies, trying to gauge China’s technological progress from offices at home is no substitute for experiencing it firsthand – by visiting Shanghai, Shenzhen or Beijing and engaging directly with the market.
Many companies have already stepped into China’s technology arena, using one of the world’s most competitive markets as a testing ground to sharpen their capabilities. In the first half of 2026, capital inflows into foreign-invested high-tech services and high-tech manufacturing rose 61 percent year-on-year.
The companies that are willing to engage with this fast-changing environment will be better-positioned to understand new trends and strengthen their own competitiveness. As China’s technology ecosystem continues to evolve, the number of companies seeking to take part in this process is likely to grow – not only in South Korea, but across the global economy.
The author is a reporter with the Global Times. bizopinion@globaltimes.com.cn
