South Korea's Ministry of Industry and ** recently said that in order to protect the rights and interests of domestic LG chemical companies, the company will launch a commercial investigation into China-made smart machines and cathode raw materials such as lithium salts. This move has aroused the suspicion and criticism of many people, and some people say that South Korea is imitating the United States and Europe, setting up various obstacles to prevent the development of China's industry. However, this will only have the opposite effect and will make the competition and confrontation between China and South Korea more serious.
In fact, China and South Korea have a lot of competition in many aspects such as mobile**, home appliances, semiconductors, chips, chemicals, etc. South Korea's leading position will gradually disappear due to China's technological development and innovation, and will eventually be surpassed by China. LG Chemical, for example, used to be the world's largest lithium battery manufacturer, but in recent years it has sold off its LCD glass substrate business, color photoresist business and display film business, apparently to make room for its Chinese counterparts.
South Korean companies are unwilling to give up, believing that China has used improper methods and infringing on their intellectual property rights, so they have conducted a ** investigation into China, in order to maintain its international market share by imposing high tariffs or controlling the export of its products. But the move would be short-sighted and foolish, and given South Korea's heavy dependence on Chinese raw materials and markets, it would suffer even more if China responded to it.
For example, China has suspended the export of automotive urea for environmental reasons, which has dealt a big blow to South Korea. As an important additive to reduce motor vehicle exhaust pollution, the production of urea is mainly based on natural gas and coal, and only a few resource-rich countries can achieve their own production, while some poorer countries such as South Korea need to buy from abroad. Without supply from China, South Korean consumers will be unable to buy a car, while imports from other places (such as India) will result in shipping costs**, which will reduce the profitability of Korean automakers.
Such situations abound, such as China, South Korea's largest partner and South Korea's largest exporter, and if China takes measures to impose sanctions on South Korean goods, South Korea's economy will be hit hard. In addition, Koreans' daily necessities, such as cabbage, chili peppers, corn cobs, etc., are also imported from China, so the cessation of China's exports to South Korea is bound to harm the livelihood of its people.
South Korea's bold launch of the China investigation is largely due to the fact that the United States and Europe are behind the scenes, thinking that they can use this to play games with China and gain greater benefits. However, South Korea ignores a key reality: the United States and Europe cannot be compared with China in terms of power and status, the United States and Europe have huge materials and huge purchasing power, enough to start a protracted commercial war with China, while South Korea is a small country that has no capital at all, and can only become cannon fodder in the hands of the United States and Europe, discarded at will.
South Korea's competition with China on an industrial basis is simply a mantis arm as a car. China's industry is much higher than South Korea in terms of size and level, and it is also undergoing technological innovation, including a series of cutting-edge technologies such as new energy vehicles, 5G communications, and artificial intelligence, which are beyond South Korea's reach. If South Korea is to continue to maintain its status as an advanced country, it must abandon its past pride and prejudices and engage in exchanges and cooperation with China, rather than hostile and challenging China.