"For the first time, China surpassed South Korea in 136 key technologies!"
The Koreans are a little unable to sit still. In the long-term scientific and technological competition, South Koreans have always regarded themselves as the "leading bosses" of East Asian scientific and technological powers. And this "rising star" China, which was once underestimated by them, is now surpassing their 81.5% score with an overall technical level of 82.6%.
Seeing such a straightforward "record list", the South Korean people were in an uproar. "We are still leading in semiconductors, batteries and other fields, but in aerospace, quantum technology and other fields, we have lagged behind China!" This statement in the South Korean assessment report is difficult for South Koreans to accept. South Korean media had to admit that "the pattern of scientific and technological competition between China and South Korea is changing." In the future, China's technological superiority will become a huge burden for us. "
Why is the sudden "overtaking" capability so fast? How does South Korea view China's "technological frenzy"? And how will it deal with the challenges brought about by China in the field of science and technology?
Overtaking China, South Korea has its own "killer feature"
In an interview, South Korean science and technology assessment experts certainly do not tell the truth to the media: "Yes, China has completely overpowered us in many areas." "
There are some surprises in the rankings, but they prefer to explain this phenomenon by "momentary fluctuations". After all, China is still far behind in the frontier fields of science and technology that South Korea has always led the global trend, such as batteries, artificial intelligence, and 5G.
"Now the score is only temporarily ahead, but China's scientific research capacity is still not as good as South Korea's. Some experts directly blame China's lead on the temporary decline in South Korea's R&D spending during the pandemic.
"As long as we continue to work hard, catching up will eventually become surpassed. In the interview, the South Korean tech community is unwavering in its confidence in itself. They believe that although China is developing rapidly in some basic scientific research fields, South Korea still has unsurpassed advantages in cutting-edge applications with highly integrated technology.
This is the "killer" of the "leader" status of science and technology - South Korea still occupies a global dominant position in some key technology fields such as semiconductors and electronic products, and controls the absolute right to speak in the industrial chain. As long as there are no major mistakes in these areas, South Korea will remain firmly in control of the lifeblood of the technology industry in East Asia and the world.
"To prevent the transfer of key technologies to China, blockade will be a must. In order to cope with the pressure of "China's overtaking", the South Korean science and technology community is also brewing corresponding "containment" countermeasures. In the short term, restricting China's technological spillover and curbing its development in high-tech fields will become the main theme.
The ranking may serve as a good warning that South Korean society is accelerating its spending on technology. In the long run, improving its own scientific and technological strength by increasing investment in scientific research may be the best way for South Korea to get rid of being overtaken by China.
China is on the rise, and the world is being reshaped
The so-called "time, place, and people" are indispensable. The increase in short-term investment alone will not be enough to compensate for China's growing technological prowess. The level of science and technology has fallen instead of rising, and all kinds of signs have shown that South Korea's former "hegemon" status in the field of science and technology is shaking.
Turning to the top 11 tech sectors that influenced this assessment, we can see that China has the upper hand in most of them. In fields such as aerospace, machinery manufacturing, material nanotechnology, life and health care, and energy, China has unwittingly left South Korea behind. Even in areas where it has traditional strengths, such as ICT and electronic communications, China's pace of catching up is unusually fast.
In the big picture, none of this comes as a surprise. As a rising star in science and technology in developing countries, China is gradually narrowing the gap with developed countries with the help of the relative improvement of national strength and the demographic dividend. In the context of the continuous rise of the overall national strength, scientific and technological talents are gradually gathered, funds and policies are gradually keeping up, and high-speed development is a matter of course.
Some people believe that this "technology overtaking" heralds a profound change in the global technology landscape. As an emerging technology power that cannot be ignored, China's influence will become stronger and stronger. At that time, South Korea may have to make more room for China from the bench that determines the direction of the global technology industry.
At the same time, the rapid development of China's science and technology will also promote drastic changes in the global industrial landscape. Taking key industries such as semiconductors and chips as examples, the division of labor in the global industrial chain is being reshaped. A China-led "China Circle" industrial ecology is taking shape, and South Korea's "leading" status will also be hit hard.
"As long as scientific and technological talents continue to emerge and investment in science and technology continues to increase day by day, the scientific and technological strength of China and even the entire East Asian region will surely lead the global trend in the future. One expert said. All this may still be a fantasy for science and technology. But for the world as a whole, a new technological landscape is on the horizon.
Whether in East Asia or globally, a new landscape of technology competition is being reshaped. This kind of change may not be completely completed in a short period of time, but the historical watershed that shocked the world has begun. In the future, China will play an increasingly important role in the field of science and technology. This will be a new chapter in the world that cannot be ignored.