In recent years, China's semiconductor industry has made remarkable progress, rapidly narrowing the technological gap with South Korea and even surpassing it in some areas. According to the latest report released by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP) in August 2025, China ranks second in the world in semiconductor technology, just behind the United States, and leads South Korea in almost all technological fields.

Technological Breakthroughs in Multiple Areas

In the field of high-density resistive memory technology, China scored 94.1%, surpassing South Korea's 90.9%. This technology is one of the important directions for the future development of memory chips. China's leading position in this area means it has an advantageous position in the competition for next-generation memory chips. In the field of AI chips, China scored 88.3%, higher than South Korea's 84.1%. With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, the demand for AI chips is increasing. China's technological advantage helps meet the huge domestic market's demand for AI chips and enhances its competitiveness in the international market. In addition, China scored 79.8% in the field of power semiconductors, significantly higher than South Korea's 67.5%; and 83.9% in next-generation high-performance sensing technology, compared to South Korea's 81.3%.

South Korea's Traditional Advantages

Despite China's breakthroughs in many areas, South Korea still has strong competitiveness in its traditional areas of strength. In terms of memory chips, South Korea's Samsung and SK Hynix still lead Chinese manufacturers in terms of production capacity, technology, and R&D history for DRAM, NAND, and HBM chips. Samsung has already been able to manufacture 3nm chips in advanced processes and plans to achieve mass production of 2nm chips in 2025. Its advanced packaging technology is also at a leading global level, which gives South Korea a certain competitive edge in the manufacturing of cutting-edge chips.

Future Development Trends and Impacts

With the continuous and rapid development of China's semiconductor companies, South Korea's chip industry may face the possibility of being completely overtaken in the future. The rise of China's semiconductor industry will have a profound impact on the global semiconductor landscape. Some analysts believe that South Korea's advantage in the global semiconductor market is gradually diminishing. The rapid development of China's semiconductor industry is due to strong national policy support, continuous increase in corporate R&D investment, and the strong pull of the domestic market's huge demand. In the future, China is expected to achieve technological breakthroughs in more areas and further enhance its position in the global semiconductor industry.

In summary, the rapid progress of China's semiconductor technology is changing the competitive landscape of the global semiconductor industry. China's leading position in some areas has given it more say in the global semiconductor market. South Korea needs to actively respond to challenges and consolidate its traditional advantages. In the future, competition and cooperation between China and South Korea in the semiconductor field will become more complex and changeable, and the global semiconductor industry landscape will also undergo profound changes.

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