That neighbor is South Korea!
South Korea, which thought that after joining the United States, it would be able to sit back and relax, was once again slapped in the face!
According to the Global Times, South Korea's Ministry of Science and Technology Information and Communication (MOT) released the "2022 Technology Level Assessment Results" report on February 29, which showed that South Korea's development level was "overtaken by China for the first time" in 136 key technologies in 11 strategic areas selected by South Korea.
According to the report, every two years, South Korea will evaluate the level of scientific and technological development in 11 fields, including construction, transportation, disaster safety, aviation, aerospace, ocean, national defense, machinery manufacturing, nanomaterials, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, food, health care, medical care, energy and resources, environment, meteorology, and information and communication technology, so as to examine the degree of scientific and technological progress related to the development of South Korea's national economy.
South Korea has set a comparison between the four major economies of the United States, the European Union, China, and Japan, as well as South Korea itself.
The report was also conducted by a quantitative analysis of the number of patents published** and the number of patents filed by each country, and 1,306 experts were consulted in this report.
Compared with the actions of some South Korean university professors who often claim that all kinds of culture and history originated in South Korea, the scientific and technological evaluation report released by South Korea is relatively formal and rigorous, and has a certain degree of credibility.
According to the report, if the United States, which has the highest level of technology in the world, is considered to be 100%, then the European Union (94.)7%), Japan (86.).4%), China (826%), South Korea (815%）。
In the 2020 survey, South Korea scored only 801% of 01% advantage, slightly ahead of China (80%).
After two years, it was overtaken by China!
According to the report, South Korea has a slight lead over China in the fields of semiconductors, power batteries and hydrogen energy.
However, it lags behind China in all other fields, especially in the fields of aviation, aerospace, ocean, and communication technology, and there is a considerable scientific and technological gap with China.
For example, South Korea has no scientific research results in the field of quantum communication and quantum computers.
R&D in the field of UAVs is even lagging behind neighboring North Korea, and it is not worthy of lifting shoes for China.
To this end, South Korea** pointed out after the release of the report that South Korea has lagged behind China in the fierce global competition in science and technology.
This is a major wake-up call to South Korea's tech sector, showing that South Korea is facing a strong challenge from China in the global tech competition.
In fact, the 11 strategic science and technology fields selected by South Korea in this report are limited to the development of South Korea itself, and it does not mean that these 11 science and technology fields are the only ones in the world.
For years, South Korea has repeatedly boasted that it is a "high-tech powerhouse."
But we have not heard of well-known Korean Internet companies at all, and South Korea does not have the ability to build high-speed railways with independent intellectual property rights, and its domestic high-speed trains use French technology and train bodies, and cannot make passenger planes or transport aircraft.
It lags far behind China in the field of nuclear energy applications.
In 2020 and 2021, when South Korea's former Moon Jae-in was in power, South Korea's total economic output ranked 9th in the world, and it was praised by the United Nations as the only country to jump to a developed economy after World War II.
After only a year and a half in office, South Korea's economy has fallen to 14th in the world.
South Korea's full-year economic growth rate for 2023 is just 14%, completely entering the stage of low-speed development.
After falling to 14th place in the global GDP ranking in 2023, South Korea's science and technology have also begun to lag behind significantly!
Therefore, the "science and technology tree" pointed out by South Korea basically revolves around its three major economic pillar industries.
They are automobiles, semiconductor chips, and shipbuilding.
It's not that South Korea's overall level of science and technology is only 1 lagging behind China1 percentage point, but in the eyes of South Korea, those scientific and technological projects that they are actively developing are actually lagging behind China!
It should be noted that the South Korean report does not mention that since the founding of the People's Republic of China, China has been encircled and blocked by the United States and the West in the field of scientific research, and the environment for scientific and technological development is extremely harsh, and in recent years, it has been forced to face a new round of "scientific and technological warfare" launched by the United States.
On the other hand, South Korea's technological development has always been smooth.
For example, in order to suppress the Japanese semiconductor industry, which was once the dominant one, the United States has turned to support South Korea's semiconductor industry for 30 years.
To technology for technology, for money to capital, South Korean chips can have today's achievements, basically by the "American dad" to feed the mouthful.
However, even as the United States is fully committed to supporting South Korea's major science and technology, South Korea is lagging behind China, which has been severely blockaded.
And in South Korea's report, the four comparison objects of the United States, Europe, Japan and South Korea all belong to the United States and Western camps, with the exception of China.
But it is still able to maintain the strong development of science and technology and break through strongly, which has to make Koreans feel "broken defense"!
Actually, Koreans also think too highly of themselves!
Because, South Korea's No. 1 chaebol giant Samsung Group, which accounts for one-fifth of South Korea's total GDP, has 65% of its shares firmly controlled by Wall Street in the United States!
Most of its profits have to be handed over to the financial predators of Wall Street in the United States!
That is to say, in addition to being a puppet of the United States politically and militarily, South Korea is also a puppet of the United States economically.
At best, they are high-level wage earners of big American capitalists!
Now, China and the United States are wrestling their wrists, and South Koreans still think they are qualified to eat at the "table" in what US Secretary of State Antony Blinken put it.
But in reality, the Koreans are just a "menu" in the eyes of the United States!
Praise for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation together!