Investigates strategies and policies for Korea to pursue, particularly in science and technology, in light of a rising China.

Strategic Choices in Science and Technology

Korea in the Era of a Rising ChinaBy Somi Seong Steven W. Popper Kungang Zheng

Rand Coporation

Copyright © 2005 RAND Corporation and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Evaluation and Planning
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8330-3746-6

Contents

Preface....................................................................................................................................iiiFigures....................................................................................................................................xiTables.....................................................................................................................................xiiiSummary....................................................................................................................................xvAcknowledgments............................................................................................................................xxxiAbbreviations..............................................................................................................................xxxiiiCHAPTER ONE Introduction..................................................................................................................1Objective of the Study.....................................................................................................................3Approach...................................................................................................................................3Scope of the Analysis......................................................................................................................4Outline of the Report......................................................................................................................4CHAPTER TWO Korea's Main Economic Concerns About a Rising China...........................................................................7Are China and Korea Competitive or Complementary?..........................................................................................7Can the Mutually Beneficial Korea-China Trade Relationship Be Sustained in the Long Run?...................................................9Will Korea and China Be Increasingly Competitive in the Near Future?.......................................................................12Was Korea Squeezed Out of Markets in Industrialized Countries While Gaining Market Share in China?.........................................16Squeezed Out of the China Market?..........................................................................................................20Is Korea's Manufacturing Sector Being Hollowed Out?........................................................................................21The Threat May Have Been Covered Up by the Past Decade's World Economic Boom...............................................................23External Risk Factors: China's Overheated Economy..........................................................................................25Narrowing Technological Gap Between Korea and China........................................................................................26CHAPTER THREE Current Technological Capability: S&T Indicators and Trends.................................................................27International Comparison of Technological Capabilities.....................................................................................27Country-Level Aggregate Indices of S&T Capabilities........................................................................................28Korea Is Currently Ahead of China in Aggregate S&T Capability..............................................................................31High R&D-to-GDP Ratio and High Gross Tertiary Science Enrollment Are the Major Contributors to Korea's High STCI Score.....................31Limitations of Aggregate Indices...........................................................................................................33On an Absolute Scale, China Is Ahead in R&D Investment and Human Resources.................................................................34Major S&T Indicators for China.............................................................................................................36Rapid Growth in R&D Investment.............................................................................................................36Relatively Little Funding for Basic Research...............................................................................................38Scientific Paper Publication Outperforms Basic Research Investment.........................................................................38Some Studies Assert That China Is Already a "Research Powerhouse"..........................................................................40China Has an Absolute Advantage in Scientists and Engineers, and the Supply Is Abundant and Increasing.....................................42Success in Educational Reform Further Strengthens China's Human Resource Advantage.........................................................43Patent Data Show China Has Limited Invention Capabilities..................................................................................45The Chinese Industrial Sector Is Not the Major Player in Invention-Type Patents............................................................47China Is Behind in Overseas Patent Activity................................................................................................47Korea Is Relatively Strong in International Patent Activity................................................................................49The Increase in China's High-Tech Exports Is Mainly Due to Foreign-Invested Companies......................................................52Limited R&D Capability with Increasing Potential...........................................................................................54CHAPTER FOUR China's National Innovation System and R&D Strategies........................................................................55China's National S&T Strategy..............................................................................................................55China's Core Development Strategy: "Rejuvenating the Nation Through Science and Education".................................................56S&T and Education Are the Two Pillars of China's Economic Development......................................................................57China's National Innovation System.........................................................................................................59Main Actors and Institutional Arrangement of the Chinese NIS...............................................................................60The Key Universities and the Chinese Academy of Science Are | Major Knowledge Creators.....................................................60The CAS As a Reformed Research Powerhouse..................................................................................................62Universities As Major R&D Performers.......................................................................................................64The Chinese Indigenous Industrial Sector Is a Relatively Weak Link in the NIS..............................................................68China's S&T Policy Governance Structure....................................................................................................75Hierarchical and...