In recent years, the rapid growth of the medical device market worldwide has shown strong growth in the market. The medical device industry is a promising industry, already an important part of the international market based on the benefits of demand ...
In recent years, the rapid growth of the medical device market worldwide has shown strong growth in the market. The medical device industry is a promising industry, already an important part of the international market based on the benefits of demand and capital, and is expected to grow more rapidly in recent years in the export trade of medical devices to Korea and China, becoming a major player in the emerging economy with the world's population aging trend, medical resources have become the head of a country's welfare dominance, bringing huge returns to the economy in addition to promoting human health. In 2015, the governments of Korea and China formally signed a free trade agreement (formally effective in 2016) to expedite the rapid development of superior and competitive industries between Korea and China.
Therefore, the first purpose of this study is to compare and analyze 15 medical device items imported and exported from China to identify which country is more competitive in the medical device industries in Korea and China and which are dominant in each country. The second objective is to use three methods of index analysis for more empirical analyses: the present relative advantage index (RCA), the market comparative advantage index (MCA), and the trade specificity index (TSI) of international trade theory. Third, the research aims to improve the international competitiveness of Korean medical devices and contribute to the export international market, as these competitive analysis results have implications not only for academia but also for the industry.
Based on the results, Korea's ultrasound imaging diagnostic system (9018.12), dental implants, dental implants (9021.29), injection guidelines (9018.32) and soft contact lenses (9001.30) showed strong international competitiveness in exports of similar products in the China's dominant item is medical gloves (4015.11), which belong to low-end small-model items. In the international trade market, Korea's medical device industry has a relatively dominant edge over China in terms of competitiveness, and its competitiveness index is also on a steady rise. On the other hand, China's medical industry remains weak, meaning the industry's international competitiveness is not improving. South Korea's medical device industry saw its competitiveness in global exports rise steadily as the RCA index continued to rise from 2013 to 2017, a report showed, indicating that it also has a strong competitive edge in comparison with its peers in the Chinese market. In terms of trade specialization of the same items, Korea's specialization index and industrial specialization were higher than China's, meaning Korea has an export advantage over China.
According to various other analysis results, both Korean and Chinese medical equipment industries are among the mid- to low-end categories, but Korea has a higher competitive edge than China in mid-end products and higher caustic ratios compared to China. Low-end small-model items are China's competitive advantage over Korea. In terms of high-tech medical devices, both Korea and China have weak international competitiveness, and both RCA and TSI indexes for high-tech medical device items such as stent (9021.90) and artificial kidney equipment (9018.90) are at a low level.South Korea needs to constantly increase customer loyalty through strengthening its brand, continuously developing new products, diversifying export markets, maintaining current competitiveness, expanding market share, brand premiumization strategies and launching new products.