The rapid development of China's shipbuilding industry has put tremendous pressure on the Korean shipbuilding industry. According to data released by British analyst Clarkson, China's performance in global new ship orders has surpassed South Korea, which has only achieved 43% of the target. South Korea, on the other hand, tried to find out the reasons for the decrease in orders in the shipbuilding industry and proposed two possible explanations. First, they said that the shipbuilding industry may be going through a "supercycle", that is, there are too many orders in a short period of time, and it is difficult for shipbuilders to meet production demand. However, this explanation does not hold water, because the global order volume of new ships is actually on a downward trend, and there is no problem of over-ordering and over-production. Secondly, Korean media believe that South Korean shipping companies are selectively receiving orders, mainly focusing on high value-added ships. However, it has been proved that Chinese shipbuilders have also received a lot of high-tech orders, and their share in the field of high-tech transport ship manufacturing continues to rise. Therefore, the loss of technological and industrial advantages of Korean shipbuilders is the main reason for the decrease in orders.
The South Korean shipbuilding industry is not only lagging behind China in terms of technology, but also losing its competitiveness in terms of industrial advantages. South Korea has excellent shipbuilding technology, but due to its small territory, it does not have the conditions to build a large number of shipyards like China. At the same time, the high cost of raw materials used in South Korea, coupled with the outflow of funds caused by the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes, makes the profits of South Korean shipbuilders not high. This has led to a significant reduction in the number of shipbuilders in South Korea, from 200,000 at its peak to 9 at the end of last year50,000 people. Compared to this, China has been less affected, so many orders have been handed over to Chinese shipbuilders to complete.
Similar to South Korea's shipbuilding industry, South Korea's automotive industry is also facing significant pressure from the Chinese market. In the field of traditional fuel vehicles, China was once unable to compete with old automobile powers such as Germany, and most fuel vehicles were imported or joint ventures. However, in the field of new energy vehicles, the Chinese market has risen rapidly, becoming one of the largest new energy vehicle markets in the world. This creates stiff competition for German car brands.
Taking the German Volkswagen Group as an example, in the field of traditional fuel vehicles, Volkswagen's brand cars are very popular in the Chinese market and can earn a lot of profits every year. However, in the field of new energy vehicles, Volkswagen's brand has been challenged by local Chinese brands. In fact, Chinese electric vehicles have even begun to be exported to the German market in reverse, which has put the Volkswagen Group under tremendous pressure. In order to catch up, the Volkswagen Group plans to move its R&D center to China and use a large number of Chinese-made components. This move, which aims to tailor cars for Chinese users, is actually a manifestation of the inability of the German automotive industry to compete with China in the field of new energy electric vehicles.
The rapid development of China's shipbuilding and automobile manufacturing industries has brought tremendous pressure to South Korea and Germany, which also confirms the correctness of China's adherence to the path of independent innovation. Chinese shipbuilders have increased their efforts in technological innovation and industrial transformation, not only improving the order acceptance rate, but also increasing their share in the high-tech field, gradually catching up with or even surpassing South Korea. Similarly, the rapid rise of China's automotive market also shows that China's technological strength in the field of new energy vehicles should not be underestimated. The successful experience of China's shipbuilding and automobile manufacturing industry is the result of China's insistence on independent innovation and continuous investment in research and development.
The rapid development of China's shipbuilding and automotive industries has put enormous pressure on South Korea and Germany. South Korea's shipbuilding industry is inferior to China in terms of technological and industrial advantages, and the decline in orders is the result of its loss of competitiveness. The German automotive industry is severely challenged by the Chinese market in the field of new energy vehicles, and the performance of German car brands in the Chinese market is not as good as that of local Chinese brands. China's adherence to the path of independent innovation is correct, and the successful experience of China's shipbuilding and automobile manufacturing industry is worth learning from and Xi learning from. China has made remarkable achievements in technological innovation and industrial transformation, which has not only enhanced China's own strength, but also put tremendous pressure on other countries. In the future, China should continue to increase investment in technological innovation and R&D, adhere to the path of independent innovation, and make greater contributions to the sustainable development of China's economy.