Kim Jong-moon Urges South Korean Firms to Join China Tech Events as ICT Exports Jump 141%
Updated
Updated · Global Times · Jul 20
Kim Jong-moon Urges South Korean Firms to Join China Tech Events as ICT Exports Jump 141%
1 articles · Updated · Global Times · Jul 20
Summary
Kim Jong-moon, head of the Korea Innovation Center, said South Korean companies should attend major Chinese tech events such as the World Artificial Intelligence Conference to track China’s fast-moving industrial and technology shifts firsthand.
China’s rapid advances in AI, robotics and new energy are making those exhibitions more than showcases, he said, warning that firms that drift from China’s industrial and supply-chain networks risk losing competitiveness.
South Korea still holds strengths in areas including semiconductors, but Kim said companies need to benchmark themselves against both Chinese and global rivals as competition in the Chinese market intensifies.
Trade data underscore those links: South Korea’s ICT exports hit a six-month high in the first half of 2026, with shipments to mainland China and Hong Kong up 141% year on year.
Broader foreign interest is also rising, with first-half capital inflows into China’s foreign-invested high-tech services and manufacturing up 61%, reinforcing China’s role as a key testing ground for global tech companies.