This year, the term 'supercycle' describing Korea's record export boom appears to apply equally to China. The growth in high-tech product exports, including semiconductors, has reached mid-double digits, putting pressure on Korea in the global market. With Korea already losing its edge in sectors like home appliances, electric vehicles, and batteries, the stability of its last stronghold—memory semiconductors—is now at risk.
According to industry reports on September 14, the export growth in both Korea and China this year has been led by high-tech products such as semiconductors and computing equipment. Korea's information and communication technology (ICT) exports reached $253.86 billion in the first half of the year, a 120.5% increase compared to the same period last year. In July, exports grew by 140.6%, and in August, they surged by 162.6%, indicating an even greater increase in the second half of the year. Last month, semiconductor exports soared to $46.67 billion, marking a 209% increase, while demand for enterprise solid-state drives (SSDs) drove a 383.1% rise in computer and peripheral equipment exports.
China has also shown a clear increase in high-tech product exports. From January to August, high-tech product exports totaled $847.83 billion, a 42.9% increase year-on-year. During the same period, exports of integrated circuits, which fall under semiconductors, rose by 103.9%, and exports of automatic data processing machines and components increased by 49.4%. Last month, the growth rate for high-tech product exports exceeded the cumulative rate at 56.9%, with integrated circuits up by 129.8% and automatic data processing machines and components up by 76.5%.
While Korea's ICT products and China's high-tech products differ in classification, making direct comparisons of export values or growth rates challenging, analysts note that the overlap in key export items is increasing as both countries' exports are driven by semiconductors and computing equipment.
Outside of semiconductors, Korea's dominance has already diminished. According to the Korea Electronics Information and Communication Industry Association (KEA), in the previous year, China surpassed Korea in global market share for five major appliances—TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, and robotic vacuum cleaners—based on sales volume. Chinese companies led the TV market with a 36.1% share compared to Korea's 30.6%, and in refrigerators, China held 41.7% while Korea had only 15.0%.
Competition is intensifying even in the semiconductor sector, where Korea once held a clear advantage. A report from market research firm Counterpoint Research indicates that in the second quarter of this year, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) achieved a 10% share of the global DRAM market, up from 4% in the same quarter last year, making it the fourth-largest player after Samsung Electronics (38%), SK Hynix (25%), and Micron (24%). Recently, CXMT has also begun mass production of the next-generation mobile DRAM, LPDDR6.
In NAND flash memory, Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC) has seen rapid growth. According to Counterpoint Research, YMTC's global NAND revenue market share reached 14% in the second quarter, up from 11% a year earlier. It is now on par with Kioxia, following Samsung Electronics (28%), SK Hynix (19%), and Micron (15%). In terms of shipment volume, YMTC ranks third after Samsung and SK Hynix.
Currently, domestic companies still lead in high-value markets such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and SSDs. However, as CXMT and YMTC expand their production capabilities from general-purpose products to those for mobile, server, and AI applications, the competitive landscape is broadening. Industry consensus suggests that the technology gap with Korea has narrowed from the previous 4-5 years to around 3 years. Concerns are growing that the growth trajectory of Chinese companies, which began with low-cost appliances and has now penetrated the premium product market, could repeat itself in the memory sector.
Jeon Jae-sung, a professor at Seoul National University, noted in a recent report, "Considering the speed at which Chinese companies like CXMT are internalizing their own technologies, it is likely that Korea's competitive advantage in HBM and other areas will gradually weaken rather than collapse abruptly over the next 12 to 18 months. Korea must maintain its technological edge in HBM while simultaneously investing to secure key technologies in next-generation advanced industries."
According to industry reports on September 14, the export growth in both Korea and China this year has been led by high-tech products such as semiconductors and computing equipment. Korea's information and communication technology (ICT) exports reached $253.86 billion in the first half of the year, a 120.5% increase compared to the same period last year. In July, exports grew by 140.6%, and in August, they surged by 162.6%, indicating an even greater increase in the second half of the year. Last month, semiconductor exports soared to $46.67 billion, marking a 209% increase, while demand for enterprise solid-state drives (SSDs) drove a 383.1% rise in computer and peripheral equipment exports.
China has also shown a clear increase in high-tech product exports. From January to August, high-tech product exports totaled $847.83 billion, a 42.9% increase year-on-year. During the same period, exports of integrated circuits, which fall under semiconductors, rose by 103.9%, and exports of automatic data processing machines and components increased by 49.4%. Last month, the growth rate for high-tech product exports exceeded the cumulative rate at 56.9%, with integrated circuits up by 129.8% and automatic data processing machines and components up by 76.5%.
While Korea's ICT products and China's high-tech products differ in classification, making direct comparisons of export values or growth rates challenging, analysts note that the overlap in key export items is increasing as both countries' exports are driven by semiconductors and computing equipment.
Outside of semiconductors, Korea's dominance has already diminished. According to the Korea Electronics Information and Communication Industry Association (KEA), in the previous year, China surpassed Korea in global market share for five major appliances—TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, and robotic vacuum cleaners—based on sales volume. Chinese companies led the TV market with a 36.1% share compared to Korea's 30.6%, and in refrigerators, China held 41.7% while Korea had only 15.0%.
Competition is intensifying even in the semiconductor sector, where Korea once held a clear advantage. A report from market research firm Counterpoint Research indicates that in the second quarter of this year, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) achieved a 10% share of the global DRAM market, up from 4% in the same quarter last year, making it the fourth-largest player after Samsung Electronics (38%), SK Hynix (25%), and Micron (24%). Recently, CXMT has also begun mass production of the next-generation mobile DRAM, LPDDR6.
In NAND flash memory, Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC) has seen rapid growth. According to Counterpoint Research, YMTC's global NAND revenue market share reached 14% in the second quarter, up from 11% a year earlier. It is now on par with Kioxia, following Samsung Electronics (28%), SK Hynix (19%), and Micron (15%). In terms of shipment volume, YMTC ranks third after Samsung and SK Hynix.
Currently, domestic companies still lead in high-value markets such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and SSDs. However, as CXMT and YMTC expand their production capabilities from general-purpose products to those for mobile, server, and AI applications, the competitive landscape is broadening. Industry consensus suggests that the technology gap with Korea has narrowed from the previous 4-5 years to around 3 years. Concerns are growing that the growth trajectory of Chinese companies, which began with low-cost appliances and has now penetrated the premium product market, could repeat itself in the memory sector.
Jeon Jae-sung, a professor at Seoul National University, noted in a recent report, "Considering the speed at which Chinese companies like CXMT are internalizing their own technologies, it is likely that Korea's competitive advantage in HBM and other areas will gradually weaken rather than collapse abruptly over the next 12 to 18 months. Korea must maintain its technological edge in HBM while simultaneously investing to secure key technologies in next-generation advanced industries."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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