This study empirically examines the causal effects of U.S. semiconductor export controls imposed on China on October 7, 2022, focusing on their impact on China’s technological innovation. Treating the export controls as an exogenous policy shock, the study employs a Difference-in-Differences (DID) framework combined with a dynamic event-study approach using monthly panel data from January 2020 to December 2023. China is defined as the treatment group, while South Korea and Taiwan serve as control groups. R&D investment is used as an input indicator of innovation, and semiconductor-related patent applications are used as an output indicator. The empirical results reveal that, following the sanctions, China’s semiconductor R&D investment increased by approximately 34.7% relative to the control group, while patent applications rose by about 24.5%. These findings contradict the predictions of traditional sanctions theory, which assumes that technology restrictions suppress innovation, and instead suggest a paradoxical effect whereby sanctions stimulate innovative activity. Mediation analysis further shows that approximately 33.3% of the total increase in patent output is explained by increased R&D investment, while the remaining 66.7% arises from direct channels such as the concentration of existing research capabilities and improvements in research efficiency. Dynamic analysis indicates a short-term contraction immediately after the sanctions, followed by a rapid rebound around six months later and subsequent stabilization at a higher level. By adopting a dynamic and system-oriented perspective, this study contributes to the literature by demonstrating that technology sanctions may induce adaptive responses within national innovation systems rather than simply restraining technological progress. The findings offer important implications for the design and evaluation of technology sanctions in the context of intensifying global technological competition.

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This paper studied whether it is desirable for Korean insurance companies to cooperate with local partners in the Chinese insurance market and with which partners it is appropriate to cooperate. According to the results of the management performance of Korean insurance companies in China, the joint venture corporation showed better management performance than the Korean independent corporation. This can be attributed to the synergy effect by combining licenses and sales networks of local Chinese insurance companies, and insurance products and management know-how of Korean insurance companies. In addition, not all joint venture insurance companies perform well, and synergy effects are generated when cooperating with partners closely related to insurance. In the offline insurance market, cooperation with large banks is advantageous for selling insurance products, considering that banks account for a large proportion of insurance product sales. In addition, as online insurance is growing rapidly, cooperation with partners with strengths in online insurance such as Tencent is also showing good results. Of course, it can be said that the fact that Korean insurance companies cooperate with local partners in China reduces their stake and voting rights is a disadvantage. Nevertheless, it is an inevitable choice to take advantage of the strengths of the Chinese partner. In particular, insurance companies that purchase minority shares need to convey their Korean intentions by sending directors to the board of directors as strategic investors.

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This study analyzed how the division of labor between South Korea and China has evolved from 2010 to 2023. In particular, the analysis compared the periods before and after 2017, the year when the US-China strategic competition was in full swing, to examine the impact of this conflict on industrial production and trade between South Korea and China. The empirical analysis was conducted using input coefficients from the international input-output model and the Leontief inverse matrix multiplier. The analysis results confirmed that, first, the close division of labor between South Korea and China has remained largely unchanged amid the US-China strategic competition. However, since 2017, different aspects have been observed before and after. It is noteworthy that South Korea's dependence on China declined starting in 2018 but has been rising since 2021, while China's dependence on South Korea showed a temporary increase in 2018 but has been declining significantly since 2019. Second, these changes indicate that the division of labor between the two countries is shifting from China's one-way dependence on Korea in the past to a two-way dependence relationship. This could lead to a decline in trade between South Korea and China and to a widening trade deficit, as South Korea's dependence on China deepens. Therefore, careful review and countermeasures are necessary. Third, Korea's dependence on China is more than 10 times that of China's on Korea, and it is judged that various policy measures are needed to improve this imbalance.

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This study systematically analyzes the competitive factors of China's live commerce industry and proposes effective entry strategies for Korean companies. The findings indicate that China's live commerce market reached 4.9 trillion yuan in 2023, with 597 million users accounting for 54.7% of total internet users, establishing itself as a mainstream consumption model. The competitiveness of China's live commerce industry is formed through an interconnected structure of three elements: the combination of massive demand base and industrial ecosystem scalability, operational efficiency through technology and data, and trust building based on standardization and governance. Meanwhile, Korean companies face institutional, operational, and cultural barriers, and to overcome these challenges, strategic platform selection and entry methods, localization strategies and content differentiation, and optimization of supply chain and logistics systems are essential. Policy implications suggest that Korean companies need to deeply understand China's industrial characteristics and consumer behavior patterns, focusing on long-term brand trust building and localization rather than short-term performance. Furthermore, follow-up research is needed to develop concrete policy response measures based on continuous monitoring of regulatory changes and platform ecosystem evolution in China's live commerce market, along with empirical performance analysis.

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Against the backdrop of China's continuous “dual-carbon” strategy and strengthened high-quality development requirements, cities are actively exploring synergistic paths for economic growth and carbon reduction. With deepening global economic integration and increasing transnational capital flows, foreign direct investment (FDI) plays a critical role in promoting economic growth, driving technological progress, and optimizing resource allocation. Accelerating industrialization and urbanization have intensified carbon emission problems, forcing cities to navigate multiple pressures including growth transformation, industrial upgrading, and low-carbon development. This study constructs a comprehensive analytical framework employing multiple linear regression, panel data analysis, and case studies to systematically examine the interrelationships among FDI, industrial structure upgrading, and carbon emissions. The findings demonstrate that: FDI significantly promotes urban industrial optimization with stronger effects in economically developed cities; FDI reduces urban carbon emissions through industrial upgrading pathways; and industrial structure optimization plays a positive role in carbon emission control, with differential impacts across cities at varying development stages.This research provides empirical insights and policy guidance for urban green and low-carbon transformation while offering theoretical support and practical pathways for achieving economic development and ecological environment coordination.

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This study aims to analyze the developmental trajectory of China’s shipbuilding industry within the historical context of escalating US-China strategic competition. Given that the shipbuilding industry is highly sensitive to global economic fluctuations and characterized by capital and labor intensity, strategic crisis responses are critical for industrial sustainability. Unlike the developmental state models of Japan and South Korea, China’s shipbuilding industry expanded through market liberalization and private-sector-led competition, both prior to the 2000s and following the Reform and Opening-up. However, facing the slowdown of high-speed growth and the prolonged recession following the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, the Chinese government fundamentally shifted its stance toward active state-led industrial policies. The study examines this transition across two distinct phases. First, during the post-crisis recession, a strategy to foster “National Champion” enterprises through restructuring and mergers and acquisitions was pursued to enhance industrial efficiency and market concentration. Second, as US-China competition intensified, China adopted an advanced strategy to secure global leadership by preempting technical standards in eco-friendly and smart technologies and moving beyond mere quantitative expansion. Consequently, this research investigates the two-stage transformation of China's strategic development in the shipbuilding industry based on historical context and discusses the specificities and implications of China's industrial policy. In response to the global financial crisis and the escalation of U.S.–China strategic competition, China’s industrial policy has been reorganized beyond a focus on production dominance toward a strategy centered on the preemptive acquisition of global technological standards.

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This study analyzes the legal structure and practical limitations of China’s AI-based trademark examination system introduced by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA). While AI technologies—including Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) for image recognition and Natural Language Processing (NLP)—have significantly improved examination speed and consistency, they also create fundamental tensions with traditional trademark law principles and administrative law requirements. The core issue lies in the gap between AI’s technical “factual analysis” and trademark law’s inherent demand for “normative judgment.” Through analysis of specific misclassification cases, this study identifies risks of administrative discretion abdication and judgment deviation when examiners uncritically accept AI-generated results without normative reinterpretation. To address the algorithmic “black box” problem that weakens applicants’ procedural defense rights, this study proposes the introduction of Explainable AI (XAI) and strengthened reasoning requirements. Furthermore, it emphasizes the need to establish a multi-layered accountability framework among examiners, administrative agencies, and technology developers to ensure administrative responsibility and public trust. Ultimately, AI must function as an “intelligent assistant” supporting human examiners’ expertise, rather than as the final decision-maker. A “Human-in-the-loop” governance model must be legally and institutionally secured to prevent technological efficiency from undermining the rule of law. This analysis provides legal guidelines for nations designing intelligent intellectual property administration systems.

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This study aims to analyze how China’s smart manufacturing policies and legal framework institutionally support the growth of the manufacturing sector through their structural design and functional mechanisms amid global industrial restructuring and intensified technological competition, and to derive policy implications based on this analysis. China has designated smart manufacturing as a core national strategy through initiatives such as Made in China 2025 and the 14th Five-Year Plan, and has promoted the digitalization and intelligent transformation of manufacturing by functionally integrating multiple legal instruments, including the Science and Technology Progress Law, the Standardization Law, the Product Quality Law, and data-related legislation. These legal frameworks play a key role in ensuring the continuity and enforceability of smart manufacturing policies by facilitating technological innovation, promoting the industrialization of technological achievements, strengthening standards and quality regulation, and establishing governance systems for data and platforms. This study examines the characteristics of China’s smart manufacturing legal framework as an industrial legal system closely aligned with national strategies, and analyzes the impacts of mandatory standards and strengthened data regulation on small-scale manufacturers and other small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises. Furthermore, based on the Chinese case, this study presents policy implications suggesting that Korea’s policies for small-scale manufacturers should move beyond a finance-centered support approach and evolve toward a legal framework capable of stably supporting smart manufacturing and digital transformation. This study contributes to the literature by approaching smart manufacturing not merely as a matter of technological adoption or policy programs, but as a comprehensive legal and policy response to structural changes in the industrial landscape.

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As the global AI(Artificial Intelligence) industry grows and its use becomes more widespread among the general public, the need for data centers continues to increase. The rapid increase in data centers has led to a variety of related problems. Environmental issues such as power consumption – accounting for 1.5% of global electricity use – carbon emissions generated from power production, and cooling water usage have emerged, making it a critical time to consider sustainability. To address these issues, many countries have emphasized the need to establish eco-friendly green data centers. Although China is among the leading countries in the rapid expansion of data centers that raise environmental pollution concerns, it is also among the top in transitioning to green data centers capable of addressing climate issues. Through initiatives such as the China’s East-West computing Resources Integration Project, which promotes consolidation, the Special Action Plan for Green and Low-Carbon Development of Data Centers aimed at improving energy efficiency, standardized national management, and revisions to energy laws, China is demonstrating proper development of green data centers. Unlike China, Republic of Korea is falling behind in the development of global green data centers due to inadequate and insufficient realated systems and policies. Therefore, this study aims to analyze China’s advanced policies and legal systems related to green data centers and to provide implication for the development of relevant policies and legal frameworks in Korea.

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Based on nationally representative public opinion survey data collected in South Korea in 2024, this study systematically analyzes Korean public perceptions of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the mechanisms shaping those perceptions. The findings reveal a paradoxical cognitive pattern characterized by the coexistence of relatively high awareness and deep-seated misunderstanding. On the one hand, the overall cognitive foundation remains weak: more than half of respondents lack a clear understanding of the BRI, with limited knowledge of its basic content, developmental objectives, and potential impacts. Information acquisition is uneven, and public familiarity with the policy background and strategic intentions of the initiative remains insufficient, resulting in a fragile overall cognitive framework. On the other hand, groups with comparatively higher levels of awareness—such as men, individuals with higher educational attainment, and the baby boomer generation—are more likely to accept negative narrative frames that interpret the BRI as a tool for China to expand its global influence and pursue hegemony. This indicates a non-linear relationship between knowledge level and attitudes and reflects the effects of selective information exposure and preexisting cognitive biases. Further analysis demonstrates that political orientation, generational differences, and direct experience with China are key variables shaping public perceptions. Respondents with progressive political orientations, members of the MZ generation, and those with experience living, studying, or working in China exhibit significantly more positive evaluations of the BRI. In contrast, conservative groups and individuals without direct China-related experience tend to adopt skeptical or defensive attitudes, suggesting that perceptions are influenced not only by individual characteristics but also by socialization processes and cross-national contact. The study also finds that the cognitive challenges surrounding the BRI in South Korea stem from the combined effects of domestic political polarization, a specific information ecosystem, and Sino–U.S. strategic competition, producing a complex, multidimensional perception structure marked by both information deficits and systematic misinterpretations. This study concludes that while overall public awareness of the BRI in South Korea remains low, groups with progressive orientations, higher educational levels, and China-related experience demonstrate greater openness. Korean public attitudes toward future cooperation are ambivalent and shaped by domestic political polarization, information environments, and geopolitical rivalry. To improve public understanding, this study proposes differentiated strategies: for groups already exposed to the initiative but influenced by negative narratives, concrete facts and empirical data should be employed to clarify misconceptions and challenge entrenched cognitive frames; meanwhile, greater emphasis should be placed on “key groups” such as progressives, younger generations, and business communities that have shown relative openness, by expanding direct exchanges and experiential contact. Through people-to-people connectivity, such efforts may help alleviate strategic anxieties and gradually foster a more balanced, objective, and interest-based perception of the BRI. This study provides empirical evidence for understanding the challenges of mutual public trust between China and South Korea and offers strategic implications for targeted communication and sustainable cooperation under the BRI framework.

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