China's push to become a world leader in high-tech¹ industries has one neighbor particularly worried about new competition on the block: South Korea.

 

中国正在努力寻求成为高科技产业的世界领导者，这样的野心引起了邻国韩国的忧虑。韩国担心自己会迎来新的竞争对手。

 

In China's new economic blueprint² unveiled during the Two Sessions, known as the 13th Five-Year Plan, Chinese officials identified semiconductors³ as a potential tech sector⁵ to dominate. That has raised an alarm in South Korea's semiconductor⁴ industry, the world's largest after the U.S. with an 18 percent global market share.

 

At present, China commands just 3 percent of the global semiconductor market share but Beijing is hoping to increase that figure as part of its plan for new services industries, dubbed⁶ "New China," to bolster⁷ gross domestic product (GDP). Aside from semiconductors, "New China" sectors⁸ also include chip materials, robotics, aviation equipment and satellites.

 

Officials intend to achieve that goal by increasing the share of spending on research and development (R&D) to 2.5 percent of GDP for the 2016-2020 period, from 2.1 percent in 2011-2015, according to the new Five-Year Plan.

 

"China's announcement has of course not remained unnoticed, especially by large players in high-tech industries," economists⁹ at investment bank Natixis remarked in a report.

 

"Its aggressive push is worrying for [South] Korea's industrial giants. If we consider that Korea's major global comparative advantage is high-tech electronics, such threat becomes a systemic threat for the country's economic future."

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