How China’s sharper tech edge forces South Korea to rethink decades of industrial ties

China’s rapid technological gains and aggressive pricing are making it increasingly difficult for South Korean firms to find profitable areas of industrial synergy with their Chinese counterparts, according to experts.Speakers at a recent forum in Beijing urged firms from both countries to pivot towards building more interdependent ecosystems in high-growth sectors such as batteries and artificial intelligence, while also calling for the advancement of negotiations towards an upgraded free-trade agreement.“Industries in each country must re-evaluate their core strengths to build a synergistic, interdependent global supply chain,” Seo Bong-kyo, head of China" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="124096" data-entity-type="organization">Samsung Global Research China, said on Thursday during a seminar co-hosted by Renmin University and the South Korean embassy.