【英文】国际战略研究所报告：中国的数字丝绸之路：国家IT基础架构的集成以及对西方国防工业的广泛影响（58页）

The ROK is an ICT exporting giant. Korean companies have established complex supply chains across the  Indo-Pacific region. The importance of ICT for Korea is  reflected in the US$2.2bn the Moon Jae-in administration allocated for the Digital New Deal in 2020, Korea’s  five-year plan to accelerate its leading role in the global  ICT supply chain. According to Korea’s Ministry of  Trade, Industry and Energy (MTIE) Korean ICT exports  in September 2020 increased to a year-on-year growth of  11.9% to US$17.6bn.47 ICT exports to China grew 5.6% to  US$8.2bn driven by strong sales of semiconductors and  computers. Korea’s semiconductor industry is heavily  dependent on the Chinese ICT market. Korean chip makers rely on exports to China and in particular to Chinese  telecommunications champion Huawei. China’s share in  Samsung Electronics, annual revenue is estimated to be  close to 20%, while SK Hynix’s dependence may be even  deeper – in 2018 nearly 50% of its exports were to China,  amounting to 3.1trillion won (US$2.8bn). Despite this impressive figure, Korea is by no  means self-sufficient in fulfilling its ICT demands.  

China is a vital supplier to Korea’s ICT manufacturing  base. Imports of ICT have been steadily rising too. In  September 2020, imports also rose 9% to US$9.6bn with  a trade balance showing a surplus of US$8.1bn. Of total  imports, China enjoyed a significant share amounting  to 31%. This figure has remained consistent throughout  2020, averaging a little over 30%. China’s total share of  Korean ICT imports in 2019 was 42.5%. By comparison,  the United States’ and the EU’s shares of Korea’s ICT  imports have both remained at around 6%. Chinese ICT in Korea Chinese attention towards the ICT market in Korea  surged in 2015 with Chinese web-portal giants Alibaba  and Tencent competing for shares of Korean onlineshopping and payment-service markets.48 Alibaba  sought to make inroads into the messaging and content sector while Tencent targeted digital retail services.  Tencent gained a 10% stake in Kakao, Korea’s biggest  messaging app. Meanwhile, Alibaba established a  branch in Korea and invested US$90m in the content  industry. China’s telecommunications giants have taken  an avid interest in a broad spectrum of Korea’s ICT  sector, including Korean start-ups, tapping into Korean  technological, innovation incubator programmes. China  Telecom has maintained a strong presence in Korea  since mid-2012, aiming to encourage joint development  as a conduit for market entry of both countries’ telecommunications industries and facilitating integration.