S. Korea's IT exports to China slow sharply in 2014

South Korea's exports of information technology and electronics goods to China slowed sharply in

2014 as the world's No. 2 economy relied more on local products and technologies, a report showed Thursday.

Shipments of South Korean tech products to China edged up 1.4 percent on-year to US$103.7 billion last year, far lower than the

15.8 percent surge in 2013, according to the report by the Shanghai office of the Korea International Trade Association.

In line with the change in China's policy, the growth rate of IT exports had been on the decline. The on-year increase rate tumbled to 10.9 percent in 2011 from 41 percent a year earlier before dropping further to 7.5 percent in 2012.

The sharp slowdown came as China, the world's single largest importer of South Korean products, depends less on overseas IT goods and technologies, industry watchers said.

"Overall, including the IT and electronics industry, China's consumption of its domestic goods is rapidly expanding," said Koh Beom-seo, an official at KITA's Shanghai office.

According to the report, China's trade in the IT and electronics sector fell 0.5 percent on-year to $1.32 trillion last year, the first annual decline since 2009.

Imports of handset parts dropped 8.5 percent, while those of liquid crystal display panels and semiconductor integrated circuits sank 11.7 percent and 5.9 percent, respectively.

In order to cope with the downturn, South Korean companies should make the most of their upper hand in cutting-edge technologies, industry watchers said.

"Although China is substituting imports with locally-made products, the country still lags behind in core technologies, so it is necessary to actively target the Chinese market with our technological edge," Koh said. (Yonhap)