China extends tech lead over South Korea and surpasses Japan, Seoul’s ranking data shows

South China Morning Post · Feb 26, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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China widened its lead over South Korea in critical technologies in recent years, according to an official review by Seoul’s science ministry, as Beijing doubles down on strategic investment in advanced research.The expanding gap underscores the need for both countries to move beyond zero-sum competition and deepen cooperation in economic and technological development, according to analysts.Quantifying this trend, the latest technology-level assessment from the South Korean Ministry of Science and ICT (Information and Communication Technology) found that China further outpaced South Korea across 11 priority sectors and 136 core technologies between 2022 and 2024.The increasingly prominent edge reflects Beijing’s elevation of science and technology to the core of its national development strategy, ramping up investment in advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, artificial intelligence and next-generation energy systems.Seoul evaluates technological levels every two years by reviewing academic papers and patents in 11 areas, including construction, transport, aviation, national defence and mechanical manufacturing. The latest assessment set the United States’ scientific and technological development level in 2024 as the baseline of 100 per cent.The European Union stood at 93.8 per cent, ranking second globally. China ranked third at 86.8 per cent, up one place from 2022, overtaking Japan, which slipped to fourth at 86.2 per cent. South Korea trailed at 82.8 per cent, the ministry said last week.South Korea lagged behind the US by 2.8 years in overall technological capability, compared with China’s 2.1-year gap – leaving Seoul 0.7 years behind its regional rival.