Technological Confrontation between the USA and China as a Challenge to the Foreign Economic Strategy of the Republic of Korea

In 2022, the global technological competition between the US and China escalated and its focus moved into the field of semiconductor production. Washington’s attempts to weaken the economic potential of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have a negative impact on the interests of states that have close trade and investment ties with China. New serious challenges appear for the foreign economic strategy of the Republic of Korea, forcing the country to maneuver between the interests of the military-political ally and technology supplier (USA) on the one hand and the main trading partner (PRC) on the other. In the context of the onset of the “new Cold War” and the growing US-Chinese confrontation, Seoul is faced with the need to choose a new effective strategy. There are signs that geopolitics will increasingly influence economic calculations, and countries will deepen integration with friends and weaken dependence on enemies. Given the combination of factors influencing decision-making in Seoul, in the future, South Korea has to make a choice of possible deepening economic integration with the United States and weakening dependence on the PRC.

US-China confrontation, trade war, sanctions, economy of the Republic of Korea, semiconductors, global value chains