Apple, once called a “symbol of U.S.-China cooperation,” is expected to suffer great damage in the “high-tech war” between the two countries. “Apple is the king of the tech industry, but it is only a piece of game in the economic war between the world’s two major powers,” he said. “The market value has been hit hard by increasing signs that businesses in China are threatened.”Recently, the Chinese government banned central government officials and employees of state-run companies from using foreign-branded smartphones for business purposes. This seems to be due to concerns that sensitive information from the Chinese government could leak to other countries through overseas smartphones. Currently, iPhone is the only foreign smartphone that has secured a meaningful market share in China. For this reason, this measure is actually understood as an iPhone ban.China’s ban on Apple is symbolic. According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, there were about 56.3 million workers working for state-owned institutions as of 2021. For Apple, which sells the world’s most expensive smartphones, it is painful for Chinese officials to leave the market.
In addition, public figures and ‘celebs’ who are attracting attention in China will also hesitate to use iPhones in the future. Those who always have to pay close attention to the intentions of the Beijing leadership have no choice but to follow the silent order to “not use iPhone” even if they are not public officials. For this reason, Bank of America predicted, “This measure could eliminate up to 10 million out of annual iPhone sales (about 50 million units) in China.”Huawei, which is considered Apple’s competitor in China, is gaining huge popularity by releasing the 5th generation (5G) smartphone “Mate 60 Pro” despite all-round U.S. Some interpret the move as the Chinese government’s “push Huawei.” Apple, which will unveil the iPhone 15 series on the 12th, may feel pressured. Apple’s stock price has fallen about 7% since the report of the iPhone ban, with its market capitalization losing about USD 200 billion (about KRW 268 trillion).
China is the largest manufacturing base for Apple’s iPhone. The iPhone, designed by the U.S. and manufactured by China, seems to have paradoxically degenerated into a “long-term horse on the chessboard” in the U.S.-China economic war. WSJ analyzed, “If Apple cannot avoid bullets between the U.S. and China, which company will avoid them?” and “If Apple does not survive the U.S.-China war, no company will survive.”

JENNIFER KIM

US ASIA JOURNAL

It is estimated that about 8.6 million people, or people born in the 1960s.In Korea, these generations usually start working in their 20s and work for about 30 years. This generation should take care of their parents and take responsibility for their children as they have learned from their responsibilities and obligations.So it’s not easy.Regardless, more than 10% of them have no problem supporting this life with the assets they have received from their parents leisurely or accumulated so far. However, the majority of the population, about 7-80 percent, are still on a daily allowance, looking for work or working daily. Instead of your health or leisure, you should eventually make money.Currently, the Korean economy does not look very smooth.Therefore, both business and work conditions make quality of life difficult. “The last generation to support parents, the first generation to not be supported by children.” Current cultural programs dealing with the life of those born in the 60s who cannot retire with the burden of “double support” on their shoulders are touching generations. Those born in the 60s felt homogeneous in their lives, and the generation of their children expressed gratitude and sorry for their parents’ generation.

A video titled “The old age of a person born in the 60s who has to continue working for his family even after retiring from a large company” has been uploaded and has recorded 890,000 views so far on the 30th. The video was considered a surge in YouTube popularity, especially among middle-aged people, and seems to have been watched by many people through Kakao Talk.The video focused on the reality that people born in their 60s, who account for the highest percentage of Korea’s total population, are still unable to give up their economic activities through both the boom and bust periods of Korea. The production team explained that they entered the labor market when the Korean economy took off in the mid- to late 1980s, contributed to economic development and worked hard for democratization, and in the 1990s, they also experienced the IMF financial crisis. He introduced that he suffered from double hardships in middle age by taking care of parents and children’s education, but he has just lived silently with the strength of enduring hunger. “Born in the 60s is a generation that has to support the previous generation privately and take care of their old age,” he said. He said, “The responsibility for double support lies with those born in the 60s, but society is not paying attention to that part.”Netizens who watched the video showed various reactions by generation. Those born in their 60s said, “The children are all grown up, but they cannot retire because there are 80 adults in the countryside.” “I am an ordinary head of the family who takes care of an old mother in her 90s and raises a son in her 20s. I don’t know how to do it, so I just live hard. “Life is not easy,” he said. The generation of children said, “Even if I say not to give it to my child like that, I am always sorry to my parents who help my child whenever he or she is having a hard time.” “I should call my parents who work hard not to harm my child.” “It breaks my heart. “I want you to buy it for yourself now,” he said.Statistics show the hard lives of the elderly, including those born in the 60s. As the number of elderly people who have to earn their own living expenses for economic reasons increased, the number of elderly people aged 60 or older who work doubled in 10 years. According to the National Statistics Portal of the National Statistical Office in March, the number of employed people aged 60 or older recorded 5.772 million in February. The number increased by 413,000 from a year ago. This is the largest ever since 1999, when related statistics began to be compiled as of February.

The number of employed people aged 60 or older was only 1,856,000 in February 2003, 20 years ago, but increased to 2,734,000 in February 2013, and rose to 5.7 million in February this year, 2.1 times higher than 10 years ago. As the baby boomers born between 1955 and 1963 entered their 60s, the elderly population itself increased rapidly.It is also characterized by an increase in the number of elderly people who have found jobs to earn living expenses. The employment rate, which shows the number of employed people compared to the actual population, has also increased. In February, the employment rate for those aged 60 or older was 42.8%, the highest as of February since statistics were compiled. The employment rate for those aged 60 or older has increased by 0.8 percentage points in 10 years from February 2003 (32.0 percent) to February 2013 (32.8 percent), but has risen sharply by 10 percentage points to 42.8 percent in the past decade.It is sad that one generation has once played the central role of Korea, but now he is in a position to take responsibility for his children and parents, giving up his life and even his old age, and just remain an icon of sacrifice

EJ SONG

US ASIA JOURNAL

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s project to expand global economic and military territory, “One Belt, One Road and Maritime Silk Road,” marks its 10th anniversary on the 7th. China is conducting a large-scale public relations campaign by holding a “one-on-one International Cooperation Summit Forum” in Beijing on the 17th of next month to expand one-on-one to the next level. Leaders of more than 30 countries, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, will participate.Three years after China overtook Japan as the world’s second-largest economy in 2010, it declared a one-on-one and challenged “Pax Americana (U.S. hegemony).” It was a surprise announcement six months after President Xi Jinping took office. Over the next 10 years, the number of participating countries increased to 152. According to a report by the Center for Green Financial Development at Fudan University in Shanghai, China’s cumulative investment in One Belt, One Road (as of 2022) amounts to $962 billion.

China’s one-on-one harvest has grown its influence in developing countries such as Central Asia and Africa. It expanded its base by leading the construction of large-scale infrastructure, including the Karot Hydroelectric Power Plant in Pakistan (completed in 2022) and the Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka (four stages of construction scheduled to be completed next year).
On the other hand, the shadow of “China Money” is also deepening. A growing number of countries are on the verge of bankruptcy because they cannot afford high interest rates after accepting Chinese investment as a “gift.” China usually applies an annual interest rate of 5% to funds paid in the name of one-on-one, which is about twice that of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to the U.S. Global Development Center (CGD), 23 of the participating countries in the Belt and Road Initiative are on the verge of bankruptcy due to the burden of repaying high-interest debt to China.There are also warnings that the next decade of One Belt and One Road may lead to military expansion. The U.S. think tank, the Democratic Protection Foundation, said in a report on the 2nd, “China is using one-on-one as the basis for military buildup by lending astronomical funds, building infrastructure, and converting ports into military bases if they fail to pay back their debts.”The Belt and Road Initiative aims to absorb China’s “under the chin” of Latin America across the sea, starting with Southeast Asia and Central Asia, west of China, as well as Africa and Europe as land railways and maritime ports. While the evaluation of China has turned negative among the people of Western countries, including the U.S., where China’s desire for hegemony is embarrassing, more and more people are evaluating China favorably in countries that have benefited from one-on-one. According to a Pew Research survey released in July, only 23% and 15% of countries, including Kenya and Nigeria, said they were “negative” about China. In contrast, 83 percent in the United States and 77 percent in Korea were negative.Some analysts say that the reason why One Belt and One Road was able to pioneer the “gap market” of developing countries is because it dug into the limitations of “Pax Americana.” The large-scale U.S. military presence in East Asia after World War II has drawn criticism, but many say it has led to explosive economic growth by acting as a “shield” to prevent South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan from hostile countries such as North Korea and China. However, there are many countries that have been affected by Pax Americana, such as Latin American countries. In the 1980s, when foreign debt crises hit these regions, the United States forcibly transplanted neoliberal policies using the IMF and the World Bank as leverage. Mexico, Chile, and Argentina suffered severe side effects such as polarization, job insecurity, and energy supply shortages in the process of forced privatization and market opening, weakening their national power. It is said that developing countries, which saw this example, welcomed one-on-one Chinese funds under the slogan of “non-interference in internal affairs.

“African countries with a lot of dictatorship and corruption have also actively joined the Belt and Road Initiative for similar reasons. There are 37 countries (out of 55 countries) participating in Africa’s Belt and Road Initiative. China’s first overseas military base was built in Djibouti, East Africa (2017). The New York Times said, “As of 2021, China’s overseas loans account for 60% of the IMF,” adding, “China is encroaching on the U.S. ‘Lender of Last Resort’ status in the international community.”Ten years of light and shadow are mixed one-on-one. Saudi Arabia, which has benefited from technological cooperation and not relying on direct funding from China, is considered a representative beneficiary. Russia, Kazakhstan, and Brazil, which are relatively large in size, have also become one-on-one winners by attracting more than $1 billion (about 1.32 trillion won) in large-scale infrastructure construction projects from China.Zambia, on the other hand, borrowed $6.6 billion from China’s state-owned banks and failed to pay it back, leading to state bankruptcy in 2020. Sri Lanka forcibly handed over 80% of its stake in Hambantota port to China in 2017 after failing to pay back its debts. Djibouti’s external debt, which China included as a base for its entry into Africa, was 50% of China’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2016, in the early days of its investment, soaring to 85% two years later, putting it on the verge of bankruptcy. Seventy percent were owed to China. In July, U.S. President Joe Biden criticized One Belt, One Road as a “debt and take away business.”Amid mixed light and shade on the one-on-one road, the Chinese leadership plans to take the one-on-one road to the next level on the occasion of its 10th anniversary.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on the 1st, “We are ready to seek the construction of a high-quality one-on-one road at a new starting point.” China’s next goal is to wield international influence gained through one-on-one for its own interests. It is expected to raise its voice in the international community as a spokesman for developing countries (U.S. Diplomat) and secure military bases and supply bases in each country (U.S. Laboratory Democracy Protection Foundation) and confront the U.S. by establishing a new transportation network and supply chain.
China’s external expansion policy first presented by Chinese President Xi Jinping during a lecture at Kazakhstan’s Nazarbayev University on September 7, 2013. The plan is to pioneer a new land and sea Silk Road in the 21st century that connects Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Africa, and Europe, which is west of China. With “China Money” at the forefront, it is fighting against the U.S.-centered global order by laying infrastructure and securing de facto military bases and supply bases in developing countries beyond the reach of the U.S.

EJ SONG

US ASIA JOURNAL

As a result, it is said that there are still obstacles to the sharing of information between the U.S. and Japan.Citing former and current U.S. officials, the Washington Post (WP) reported that a Chinese military hacker succeeded in penetrating Japan’s secret military network at the end of 2020. “The situation at the time was shockingly bad,” a former official told the newspaper.  Hackers reportedly broke into Japan’s most secure network and tried to secure as much information as possible on operational plans, assets, and military flaws.There was also a situation where we could guess how urgent the situation was at that time. Paul Nakasone, then director of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), and Matthew Pottinger, then deputy assistant to the White House National Security Council, who first confirmed the hacking, immediately flew to Japan and delivered it to the Japanese defense secretary, which was later reported to the Japanese prime minister.

In response, Japan has set a policy to increase its cybersecurity budget by 10 times and nearly quadruple its military cybersecurity workforce to 4,000 over the next five years to strengthen network security. However, it is known that Japan’s confidential security network was not completely restored in 2021, after the Biden administration was launched. At that time, the hacking incident was detected during the Trump administration. As the situation turned like this, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reportedly conveyed his position to the Japanese government that “if cybersecurity is not secured, information sharing between the U.S. and Japan could be slowed.” Japan, the United States’ strongest ally in the Indo-Pacific, has so far been provided with various U.S. military information in real time more closely than South Korea. The issue is also expected to be discussed at the Korea-U.S.-Japan summit, which is scheduled for the 18th. The “Washington Declaration” adopted during President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to the U.S. in April strengthened the security alliance between South Korea and the U.S., and the U.S. has been working hard to build a security alliance between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan. “Despite the Japanese government’s tightening of security at the time, military information exchanges between the U.S. and Japan are still disrupted,” he said. This is why some observers say that if there are still problems in sharing information between the U.S. and Japan, the triangular cooperation envisioned by the U.S. may not go as planned.Meanwhile, Chinese military hackers accessed the Microsoft (MS) cloud network last month and hacked the e-mail accounts of high-ranking U.S. officials, including Commerce Secretary Lumondo. Microsoft announced on the 11th of last month (local time) that 25 organizations, including the U.S. State Department and the Department of Commerce, were attacked by a Chinese-based hacker organization called Storm-0558. However, the government did not specify China as the main agent of the hacking, as high-level conversations between the U.S. and China, including Minister Blinkon and Minister Yellen’s visit to China, began to open the door.

TED PARK

US ASIA JOURNAL

The Chinese government will control exports of drone-related equipment from September. It is interpreted as a move conscious of the recent intensifying drone attack between Russia and Ukraine, and it is also analyzed that the Chinese government has taken one more regulatory step in the process of intensifying high-tech competition between the U.S. and China. According to Reuters, China’s Defense Ministry said it would start controlling exports of drone engines, lasers, communication equipment, and anti-drone systems from September 1, saying it was “to protect national security and interests.” The control measures apply not only to military drones but also to some consumer civilian drones. A spokesman for China’s Ministry of National Defense explained, “This is to prevent civilian drones from exporting for military purposes.”
There is room for interpretation that the Chinese government’s move is conscious of the recent “drone attack” between Russia and Ukraine. A Chinese government official told Reuters anonymously that “China has launched extensive drone control to fulfill its global security initiative and reveal its status as a “major responsible country” to maintain world peace.”

Earlier in April, China’s commerce ministry criticized the U.S. and Western media for spreading “groundless accusations” that they are exporting drones to the Ukrainian battlefield. In addition, this measure is analyzed as a process of spreading competition for high-tech technologies between the U.S. and China over semiconductor chips. China, which has been subject to high-tech semiconductor export control by the U.S., will immediately implement export restrictions on gallium and germanium, which are key materials for semiconductors and solar panels, from the 1st of next month. Companies seeking to export gallium and germanium must obtain permission from the State Council through China’s Commerce Department.In the meantime, the addition of drone export controls is expected to have a direct impact on the U.S. drone market. According to data released by the U.S. Congress, 50% of drones sold in the U.S. domestic market are Chinese company DJI products, Reuters said. “DJI is also the most commonly used drone in public institutions.”

EJ SONG

US ASIA JOURNAL

The spark of the territorial dispute between China and Vietnam in the South China Sea has spread to the Korean idol group Black Pink. This is because Black Pink’s Vietnamese concert organizer defended the existence of the “Nine Dash Line” in the South China Sea, which China unilaterally claims and Vietnam opposes. A diplomatic official said, “In Korea, the host company of famous foreign singers in Korea marked the East Sea as Sea of Japan or said Dokdo as Takeshima,” adding, “It touched the most sensitive part of Vietnamese people.” Public opinion in Vietnam is raging and the government has begun an investigation. “Patriotism is more important” Fans are also angry, and if Vietnam’s social networking service (SNS) is combined, voices are growing that they will boycott the performance ahead of the first Black Pink concert in Hanoi on the 29th and 30th of this month. The beginning is an image posted on the website of iME Entertainment, the organizer of the BLACKPINK World Tour and Asia’s largest performance agency based in China.The problem was that there was a map showing nine virtual maritime border “South Sea Gudan Line” arbitrarily drawn by China to claim sovereignty over the South China Sea. China claims that the area is owned by China in the name of managing an island in the South China Sea during the Han Dynasty 2,000 years ago. According to them, 90% of the entire waters in the South China Sea will be Chinese territorial waters.These include Vietnam’s Hoangsa Islands (Chinese name Sisa Islands) and Splatley Islands (Chinese name Nansha Islands), as well as most of the Southeast Asian countries where China competes for sovereignty. The International Permanent Court of Arbitration concluded in 2016 that the Namhae District Line was groundless under international law, but China has not budged on its claim so far.Vietnam was outraged.

This is because the controversy was viewed as an “infringement of maritime sovereignty.” “If you look at BLACKPINK’s performance, it can be seen as supporting the plan to invade China,” Facebook said. It is argued that he should not go to the concert. BLACKPINK fans also turned their backs. Fans said, “BLACKPINK is good, but patriotism is more important. “I canceled my ticket reservation because I love my country,” he said, joining the boycott. Tickets for the concert were expected to be sold out for 10 minutes, but seats remain until the 9th, the second day of sales. There are also many posts on social media that say they want to resell tickets”You touch the most sensitive part of Vietnamese people”
The Vietnamese government, which is determined to deal with the issue of the Namhae-gu Danseon, has also taken a quick response. The Ministry of Culture has launched an investigation into the iME website.

Asked if the concert could be canceled, Foreign Ministry spokesman Palm Tohang declined to say, “The government is investigating the issue,” but added, “Vietnam has clarified its thoughts on the Namhae Gudan Line.” Promoting and using publications and products related to this is not allowed, he stressed.On iME Vietnam’s Facebook page, articles criticizing the posting of an image of defending the Namhae Gudan Line on the iME headquarters’ website are continuing. Given Vietnam’s precedent of suspending the broadcast of movies and dramas one after another due to the issue of the Namhae-gu Danseon, the controversy is expected to continue for the time being. The Vietnamese Ministry of Culture blocked the screening in Vietnam on the 3rd of this month because a map showing the Namhae Gudan Line was shown in the U.S. Warner Bros. film “Barbie.” In March this year, the movie “Uncharted” was also banned for the same reason, and the service of the Netflix drama “Fine Gap” was suspended in 2021.In 2019, the DreamWorks animation “About Possible” was suspended 10 days after its release due to controversy over the Namhae-gu Danseon, and Vietnam reprimanded the person in charge for poor deliberation and fined 170 million dong (about 9.37 million won) to the distributor. This is why some predict that BLACKPINK’s concert will not be easy to move on quietly. iME apologized belatedly. Brian Chow, CEO of iME, said, “We will replace the image that is not appropriate for the Vietnamese,” adding, “We respect the sovereignty and culture of all countries.” Currently, related photos have been deleted from the website.

EJ SONG

US ASIA JOURNAL

According to China’s Cheil Industries and others, Huawei introduced an industrial business AI model version 3.0 that can be used in various industries such as finance, administration, manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals at the “Huawei Developer Conference 2023” held in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, China on the 7th.
According to Huawei Cloud, Pangu 3.0 has up to 100 billion parameter functions. It allows various customers to train AI models according to their needs. Pangu 3.0 provides more personalization functions and safety to users compared to Chat GPT and Bing, which are AI models in the United States. It provides solutions optimized for the Chinese language environment by enhancing its performance in the field of Chinese natural language processing (NLP). Zhang Pingan, Huawei’s executive director and Huawei’s cloud CEO, said Pangu 3.0 will “reorganize thousands of industries.”Baidu and Alibaba have entered the Chinese version of Chat GPT market, but Huawei has cited examples in some areas, emphasizing that unlike them, it is an optimized model for industrial business markets.A typical field is weather forecasting models. Huawei explained that Pangu Weather is the first AI prediction model that shows higher precision than traditional numerical weather forecasting methods. He stressed that using this model can improve the prediction speed by 10,000 times, reducing the global weather forecast time to just a few seconds. On the 5th, the international academic journal “Nature” also published a paper on Huawei’s plate weather.According to Huawei, four to five hours of simulation was needed to predict the trajectory of the typhoon over the next 10 days in a high-performance cluster of 3,000 servers in the past, which Pangu Weather claimed could be processed in 10 seconds on a single graphics processing unit (GPU) of a single server.The plate mining model increased the operational stability of underground coal mines.

It has the advantage of being able to handle 1000 sub-works for the seven major work processes of the coal mine and monitoring the underground situation from the ground.In the railway sector, 67 types of trucks and more than 430 types of failures can be accurately identified. The accuracy is 99.8 per cent. Assuming that an average of 1,000 trains pass through the station every day, 260 train inspectors had to visually check 4 million images every day. Pangu railway models can quickly scan all images and filter 3.8 million defect-free images. It can process 95% of the entire image. Huawei explained that this greatly improves efficiency as train inspectors only need to process the remaining 200,000 images.In addition to these fields, R&D costs can be reduced by 70% when used in the field of drug molecular models. In the case of manufacturing, it helps to increase efficiency and save money. In the past, three hours were needed to make a one-day plan, but with the Pangu model, it is possible to make a three-day plan in just one minute.Pangu 3.0 is also characterized by training and learning through Huawei’s own AI processor “Sungtung (English name Ascend)” and AI computing framework “Sungs” (English name MindSpore) instead of GPUs that are mainly used in the industry. CEO Jang said, “As Chinese companies have to spend high prices and a long time to secure NVIDIA GPUs, it is difficult to keep up with the ever-increasing demand for computing power,” adding, “We hope Huawei will provide an alternative to computing power.”

KS CHOI

US ASIA JOURNAL

The spark of the territorial dispute between China and Vietnam in the South China Sea has spread to the Korean idol group Black Pink. This is because Black Pink’s Vietnamese concert organizer defended the existence of the “Nine Dash Line” in the South China Sea, which China unilaterally claims and Vietnam opposes. A diplomatic official said, “In Korea, the host company of famous foreign singers in Korea marked the East Sea as Sea of Japan or said Dokdo as Takeshima,” adding, “It touched the most sensitive part of Vietnamese people.” Public opinion in Vietnam is raging and the government has begun an investigation. “Patriotism is more important” Fans are also angry, and if Vietnam’s social networking service (SNS) is combined, voices are growing that they will boycott the performance ahead of the first Black Pink concert in Hanoi on the 29th and 30th of this month. The beginning is an image posted on the website of iME Entertainment, the organizer of the BLACKPINK World Tour and Asia’s largest performance agency based in China.The problem was that there was a map showing nine virtual maritime border “South Sea Gudan Line” arbitrarily drawn by China to claim sovereignty over the South China Sea. China claims that the area is owned by China in the name of managing an island in the South China Sea during the Han Dynasty 2,000 years ago. According to them, 90% of the entire waters in the South China Sea will be Chinese territorial waters.These include Vietnam’s Hoangsa Islands (Chinese name Sisa Islands) and Splatley Islands (Chinese name Nansha Islands), as well as most of the Southeast Asian countries where China competes for sovereignty. The International Permanent Court of Arbitration concluded in 2016 that the Namhae District Line was groundless under international law, but China has not budged on its claim so far.Vietnam was outraged.

This is because the controversy was viewed as an “infringement of maritime sovereignty.” “If you look at BLACKPINK’s performance, it can be seen as supporting the plan to invade China,” Facebook said. It is argued that he should not go to the concert. BLACKPINK fans also turned their backs. Fans said, “BLACKPINK is good, but patriotism is more important. “I canceled my ticket reservation because I love my country,” he said, joining the boycott. Tickets for the concert were expected to be sold out for 10 minutes, but seats remain until the 9th, the second day of sales. There are also many posts on social media that say they want to resell tickets”You touch the most sensitive part of Vietnamese people”
The Vietnamese government, which is determined to deal with the issue of the Namhae-gu Danseon, has also taken a quick response. The Ministry of Culture has launched an investigation into the iME website.

Asked if the concert could be canceled, Foreign Ministry spokesman Palm Tohang declined to say, “The government is investigating the issue,” but added, “Vietnam has clarified its thoughts on the Namhae Gudan Line.” Promoting and using publications and products related to this is not allowed, he stressed.On iME Vietnam’s Facebook page, articles criticizing the posting of an image of defending the Namhae Gudan Line on the iME headquarters’ website are continuing. Given Vietnam’s precedent of suspending the broadcast of movies and dramas one after another due to the issue of the Namhae-gu Danseon, the controversy is expected to continue for the time being. The Vietnamese Ministry of Culture blocked the screening in Vietnam on the 3rd of this month because a map showing the Namhae Gudan Line was shown in the U.S. Warner Bros. film “Barbie.” In March this year, the movie “Uncharted” was also banned for the same reason, and the service of the Netflix drama “Fine Gap” was suspended in 2021.In 2019, the DreamWorks animation “About Possible” was suspended 10 days after its release due to controversy over the Namhae-gu Danseon, and Vietnam reprimanded the person in charge for poor deliberation and fined 170 million dong (about 9.37 million won) to the distributor. This is why some predict that BLACKPINK’s concert will not be easy to move on quietly. iME apologized belatedly. Brian Chow, CEO of iME, said, “We will replace the image that is not appropriate for the Vietnamese,” adding, “We respect the sovereignty and culture of all countries.” Currently, related photos have been deleted from the website.

EJ SONG

US ASIA JOURNAL

Recently, the biggest topics in the global IT industry are generative artificial intelligence (AI) and ‘Chat GPT’. For now, the U.S. is ahead. Open AI, the company that created Chat GPT, is a U.S. company, and Microsoft (MS) and Google, which lead the field, are all U.S. companies.  In addition, the U.S. is far ahead in its ability to manufacture parts and equipment to run Chat GPT. Nvidia is a company that has developed AI chips that run Chat GPT. There are no companies in China that can compare with NVIDIA.In addition, as the U.S. is waging a semiconductor war with China, it is expected that it will take a long time for China to achieve semiconductor independence.Experts say, “China’s ability to manufacture equipment and parts is 10 to 15 years behind global leaders.” As a result, the U.S. is overwhelming China right now. However, China’s potential is also formidable.China has the world’s largest Internet population, so it may someday overtake the U.S. due to its vast data and technology companies boasting tremendous speed. China currently has a population of about 1.4 billion. It ranks second in the world after India. However, the Internet user population is larger than India. It is the world’s largest Internet country.  Already, almost everyone uses the super app WeChat to solve almost everything. In this process, abundant data is accumulating. In other words, there is a huge amount of data that can be used to improve AI. This is an unrivaled competitiveness that no country on Earth can match.Reporting CCTV, video information across the country:

Controversial, but China’s lack of significant respect for personal privacy is also a big advantage in data accumulation. For example, there are CCTVs all over China. The video data produced by this CCTV is a huge report of information. If this is applied to Chat GPT, China is expected to have tremendous competitiveness. Chinese IT companies are very fast. This is because internal competition is so fierce that you cannot survive if you fall behind in speed. The theft of intellectual property rights for speed is acceptable. It is widely believed in the industry that China is the fastest in the IT industry on Earth. Due to these factors, China is likely to overtake the U.S. But there is a fatal weakness. It is Communist interference. Even now, the Communist Party is censoring the Internet.  The same would be true of Chat GPT. Can Chinese chatbots, for example, answer sensitive questions about Xi Jinping?On the contrary, the Chinese Communist Party may invest heavily in generative AI to drive the rapid development of this area.The authoritarian dictatorship of the Chinese Communist Party is expected to be a double-edged sword in generative AI.

KS CHOI

US ASIA JOURNAL

(Source from Reuters/Alamy)

It appears that Korea’s semiconductor exports have decreased by about 45% to China. This was caused by the largest deficit since diplomatic relations between Korea and China.  Relations between South Korea and China deteriorated in 2017 due to the deployment of the THAAD (High Altitude Area Defense) system, which also affected exports of semiconductors, Korea’s popular products. However, Korea’s semiconductor exports declined due to China’s recent economic recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and China’s reduction in imports of South Korean products, however, improved Korea-China relations in 2018. Accordingly, Korea’s total foreign trade, in which semiconductor exports play the biggest role, has been weakening recently.  Competition in high-end semiconductor markets such as Korea is intensifying due to the development of China’s semiconductor industry, and Korea needs to make efforts to develop new technologies and secure export engines in the future.

(Source from Reuters/Alamy)

Due to uncertainties in the semiconductor market in China, Korean companies are preparing countermeasures such as diversifying export target countries and exploring new export markets. The decline is estimated to have been mainly due to uncertainties in the semiconductor market in China and trade disputes between the U.S. and China. As semiconductor producers entered the domestic market in China, import demand also decreased. Also, auto exports are also declining due to the slowdown in China. As of April 2022, South Korean carmakers’ exports to China fell 36.3% year-on-year. This is mainly due to the slowing economy in China and falling demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, Korean companies are preparing countermeasures against these difficulties. For example, we are strengthening our competitiveness by exploring new export markets and configuring various product lineups. It is also considering reducing its dependence on China by diversifying importing countries. Korean companies are trying to overcome the current difficult times and prepare for the future through these countermeasures. Korean companies are preparing various countermeasures to cope with this situation. These companies are developing new product lineups to strengthen their competitiveness in the semiconductor market in China and are pushing to diversify into other export markets. In addition, we are making efforts such as increasing technological innovation and R&D investment in Korea.

(Source from Reuters/Alamy)

On the other hand, China’s imports of Korean products are decreasing significantly. China’s imports of South Korean products fell 26.4% year-on-year in the January-August period of 2021, the report showed. This is estimated to be due to factors such as a slowdown in the Chinese economy and a trade dispute with the United States. However, the demand for Korean products in China is still high. In particular, the demand for Korean products is high in China’s IT and automobile industries. Therefore, Korean companies are trying to further strengthen their presence in these markets. Meanwhile, the Korean government is preparing countermeasures against these problems. South Korea and China have recently made efforts to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation and minimize trade barriers. Meanwhile, the Korean government is preparing countermeasures against these problems. South Korea and China have recently been trying to strengthen their economic cooperation. To this end, the Korean government is pushing for various policies to develop cooperative relations with China. For example, the Korean government is actively supporting Korean companies’ entry into China to solve the trade deficit with China. In addition, we are preparing measures such as improving the working environment of Korean companies in China and strengthening cooperation between governments. As these efforts are working, the profitability of Korean companies in China has recently been on the rise. Also, the Korean government is actively supporting technological innovation and R&D investment. This helps Korean companies maintain their competitiveness in the global market and develop new products. Finally, the Korean government is strengthening economic cooperation with China while maintaining economic relations with the United States. The Korean government is further strengthening economic cooperation with China, while at the same time maintaining economic relations with the U.S. and responding to trade disputes between the U.S. and China.

Sophia Kim

ASIA JOURNAL