China’s AI revolution is a wake-up call and an opportunity for Korea

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China’s AI revolution is a wake-up call and an opportunity for Korea

Published: 07 Jul. 2025, 00:02

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Lee Ha-kyung

The author is a senior columnist at the JoongAng Ilbo.

As China accelerates its push into artificial intelligence under mounting pressure from U.S. sanctions, it is turning the entire country into a vast testing ground for AI-led transformation. For Korea, this rapid development may feel threatening — but if managed wisely, it could become a turning point for economic renewal.

During a recent visit to Shanghai as part of a Peace Odyssey delegation, I toured research centers, universities and companies at the forefront of China’s AI revolution. The scale was staggering. Huawei’s Lianchu Lake R&D campus spans an area equivalent to half of Yeouido, western Seoul — about 225 football fields — and houses 24,000 researchers. Nearly 80 percent hold master’s or doctorate degrees, with an average age of 31.6. The Yangtze River Delta Science and Technology Innovation Zone is roughly one-third the size of Seoul, employing 500,000 people across 24,000 companies.

People visit the stand of Huawei during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre in Shanghai on June 18, 2025.[AFP/YONHAP]

Work culture also reflects China’s AI ambitions. The norm in many firms is the 9-9-6 schedule — 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week. Executives sometimes operate under “007” — working around the clock, seven days a week. Compared to Korea’s legally mandated 52-hour workweek, the contrast is stark.

Each year, China produces five million STEM graduates — 10 times more than the United States does. Among them, 77,000 earn doctorates, more than double the U.S. figure. Beijing also aggressively recruits overseas Chinese talent through its “Thousand Talents Plan.” As Saltlux CEO Lee Kyung-il put it, “With so many opportunities, 70 percent of Chinese expats eventually return.” New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman wasn’t exaggerating when he wrote, “I saw the future, and it wasn’t in America.”

The battleground of the U.S.-China rivalry is increasingly AI. SenseTime CEO Xu Li calls AI a “tool of revolution.” Having lagged behind in the Industrial, Electrical and Internet revolutions, China is determined to lead this one. While it still trails the United States in overall AI capability, it is pioneering an approach dubbed “AI+” — the fusion of AI with manufacturing, finance, health care and education.

In response to U.S. tech sanctions, China has embraced self-reliance. The government plays a central role in innovation, working in tandem with companies and citizens. With a population of 1.4 billion eager to adopt new technologies, China generates vast quantities of user data, fueling further AI development. Columbia University economist Edmund Phelps once remarked, “America innovates in Silicon Valley; China innovates nationwide.” That reality is now undeniable.

This photo taken on May 13, 2025 shows an unmanned helicopter used for emergency rescue at the booth of Chinese UAV enterprise United Aircraft at the fourth Yangtze River Delta International Emergency Disaster Reduction and Rescue Expo in Shanghai, east China. [XINHUA/YONHAP]

What makes China more formidable is its awareness of its weaknesses. Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei has acknowledged the country’s shortfall in basic science. Last year, Huawei invested 180 billion yuan ($25 billion) in research and development — one-third of which went into fundamental research.

Learning is embedded in the political culture. Mao Zedong reportedly read until his final days, even as he faced ridicule for attempting a revolution without a proletariat base. Today, Chinese Communist Party officials receive group training on AI and quantum physics roughly every 40 days. Rather than remain confined by theory, China has developed a system that generates new pathways where none previously existed. DeepSeek, a Chinese AI model built in defiance of U.S. restrictions, is a testament to this drive.

DJI, the world’s top drone maker, started when a university student flew a drone on a Hong Kong campus. In Korea, flying a drone on a university field requires police notification and a month wait. DeepRobotics, a Chinese company specializing in firefighting robots, uses technology that is also found in Korea — but it was China’s government that nurtured its growth through state procurement. Korea, by contrast, remains hampered by heavy regulation.

Former President Kim Dae-jung, despite coming from a pre-industrial background, envisioned Korea leapfrogging into the information age. His push for digital transformation gave Korea world-leading internet infrastructure and a robust tech sector. Today, only Korea and China have comprehensive manufacturing capacity across all sectors. President Lee Jae Myung must now do the same for AI — fostering “physical AI” through manufacturing and “vertical AI” through targeted applications in Korean health care, food and culture. Improving productivity through AI can also offset demographic decline and high labor costs. To stop the nation’s overwhelming focus on medical schools, Korea must offer attractive incentives for STEM talent.

This illustration photograph shows screens displaying the logo of DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company that develops open-source large language models, and the logo of OpenAI's artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT on Jan. 29. [AP/YONHAP]

In 2017, Chinese Go champion Ke Jie lost all three matches to AlphaGo and wept. Within months, China announced an aggressive national AI strategy. When Korean player Lee Se Dol managed one win against AlphaGo in 2016, Korea did nothing. That missed opportunity should haunt us.

China’s AI surge is shocking, but for Korea, it could also be a blessing — if met with determination. Lee Jae Myung has declared his ambition to make Korea one of the world’s top three AI powers. It’s a goal that demands full national commitment. If not, Korea’s economic peak may already be behind it.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.