South Korea should increase its semiconductor exports to China regardless of its relations with the United States in order to develop its semiconductor industry, a Chinese media outlet asserted.
“Given that South Korea’s economy is heavily dependent on the semiconductor industry, it is understandable that South Korea has announced an ambitious expansion of its semiconductor industry amid the U.S.-China semiconductor war,” said Global Times, an English-language media outlet affiliated with China’s People’s Daily, in a commentary on South Korea’s recent move to build a semiconductor mega cluster in Korea.
“With expanded production, South Korea will be able to export more chips to the Chinese market. However, this will require South Korea to continue to mitigate the impacts of U.S. political interferences.”
“It is clear that reciprocal cooperation between the Chinese and Korean semiconductor industries has brought real benefits to South Korean companies and created golden opportunities for the development of the Korean semiconductor industry,” the outlet said. “On the contrary, U.S. coercive actions to attract South Korea to its putting pressure on China’s semiconductor industry are causing significant losses to South Korean chipmakers.”
“If South Korea is to dial up its investment in its semiconductor industry, it also needs to increase its exports to China. As SK hynix Chairman Chey Tae-won has said, it is impossible for South Korean semiconductor manufacturers to find a replacement for the Chinese market, and the U.S. government’s efforts to restrict South Korea’s semiconductor exports to South Korea will only lead to South Korea losing a significant portion of its market share in China,” they emphasized.
The assertion is made in connection with a plunge in semiconductor exports to the fact that South Korea posted its first trade deficit with China in 31 years 2023, experts say.
“While the global semiconductor industry is perhaps on the verge of rebounding, the key to a further recovery of the Korean semiconductor industry lies in eliminating and reducing the impacts of U.S. semiconductor trade controls and Asian supply chain fragmentation,” the Global Times said.