Sino-Korean Trade: Analysis of Benefiting Chinese Enterprises and Industry Valuation Impacts

Based on the provided information and latest market data, I will systematically analyze the Chinese import and export enterprises that benefit from the Sino-Korean trade context and the impact on industry valuation.

According to data, Sino-Korean trade in the first 11 months of 2025 showed the following characteristics:

• Total Trade Volume
  : 2.14 trillion yuan, up 1.6% year-on-year
• Trade Structure
  : China’s trade deficit with South Korea was about 260 billion yuan
• Trade Share
  : Accounted for 5.2% of China’s total foreign trade

From search results and industry data,

include:

• Semiconductors and electronic products
  (pillar of South Korea’s exports)
• Chemical products
• Steel products

include:

• New energy vehicles
  and industrial chain products
• Power batteries
  and energy storage batteries
• Photovoltaic products
• Mechanical and electronic products

1. BYD (01211.HK/002594.SZ)
   • Full-year sales in 2025 were 4.6024 million units, up 7.73% year-on-year
   • Export of new energy vehicles exceeded 1.04 million units, breaking 1 million for the first time, with overseas contribution ratio rising to about 20%
   • Accelerated layout in South Korean and Southeast Asian markets, benefiting from RCEP tariff reductions

2. Li Auto (2015.HK)
   • Faced challenges, with deliveries in 2025 falling 18.81% to 406,300 units
   • But overseas market expansion remains a future growth point

3. NIO (9866.HK)
   • Delivered 326,000 units in 2025, up 46.88% year-on-year
   • Competitive in the high-end market

• Stable growth of Sino-Korean trade supports new energy vehicle exports
• But need to note trade friction risks (e.g., impact of Mexico’s tariff adjustments on Asian manufacturing [2])
• Industry valuation is greatly affected by export growth rate and overseas market expansion progress

1. CATL (300750.SZ/03750.HK)
   • Global market share of power batteries reached 37.9%, ranking first in the world for eight consecutive years
   • Energy storage battery shipments reached 110GWh, up 48.6% year-on-year, ranking first in the world for four consecutive years
   • R&D investment continued to increase in 2024, with 9 zero-carbon factories
   • Competes with South Korean battery enterprises in the global market, but there is also room for cooperation

2. Relevant Industry Chain Enterprises
   • Growth in energy storage battery demand is expected to drive lithium demand recovery [6]
   • Battery recycling and material enterprises benefit

• As an industry leader, CATL’s valuation is relatively stable, but need to pay attention to:
  • Global battery overcapacity risk
  • Raw material price fluctuations
  • Impact of geopolitics on supply chains
• Rapid growth of energy storage business may bring valuation reshaping

1. Longi Green Energy (601012.SH)
   • Global leading photovoltaic module enterprise
   • Products promise stable operation for more than 25 years
   • Benefits from South Korea’s and global green energy transition demand

2. Tongwei Co., Ltd. (600438.SH)
   • Leading enterprise in silicon materials and battery cells
   • Layout in multiple links of the photovoltaic industry chain

3. Other Photovoltaic Enterprises:
   • JinkoSolar, Trina Solar, etc.

• Overcapacity problem in the photovoltaic industry still exists
• South Korea’s and global green transition demand provides long-term support
• Valuation is greatly affected by capacity utilization rate and profitability
• Need to pay attention to technology iteration risk

China imports a large number of semiconductors and electronic products from South Korea, and relevant enterprises benefit:

1. Consumer Electronics Enterprises
   • Xiaomi (01810.HK)
   • Huawei industry chain companies
   • OPPO, vivo industry chain

2. Semiconductor Industry Chain Enterprises
   • SMIC (00981.HK/688981.SH)
   • Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Technology Co., Ltd. (600584.SH)
   • NAURA Technology Group Co., Ltd. (002371.SZ)

• Recovery of global semiconductor demand (South Korea’s exports hit a record [5])
• Competition and cooperation between China and South Korea in the semiconductor field
• Continuous theme of independent and controllable technology
• Valuation is obviously affected by cyclicality

South Korea exports chemical and steel products to China, and relevant Chinese enterprises benefit from:

1. New Material Enterprises
   • Wanhua Chemical Group Co., Ltd. (600309.SH)
   • Hengli Petrochemical Co., Ltd. (600346.SH)

2. Special Steel Enterprises
   • Citic Special Steel Co., Ltd. (000708.SZ)
   • Baoshan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. (600019.SH)

• Affected by global commodity price fluctuations
• Weak domestic demand may restrict valuation improvement
• Domestic substitution of high-end materials provides long-term growth space

1. RCEP and China-South Korea FTA Effects
   • Gradual tariff reduction reduces trade costs
   • Rules of origin promote industry chain cooperation
   • Long-term beneficial to the profitability improvement of relevant enterprises

2. Trade Structure Upgrade
   • Transformation from traditional trade to high-value-added products
   • Increased proportion of new energy and high-tech products
   • Conducive to Chinese enterprises climbing to the high end of the value chain

3. Deep Integration of Industry Chains
   • Complementarity between China and South Korea in new energy vehicles, batteries and other fields
   • Deepened supply chain cooperation
   • Provides stable growth space for leading enterprises

1. Trade Frictions and Tariff Barriers
   • Mexico will increase tariffs on Asian countries (including China and South Korea) by 5%-50% from 2026 [2]
   • Rise of global protectionism
   • US technical restrictions on China affect the industry chain [4]

2. Increased Competition
   • Direct competition between China and South Korea in new energy vehicles, batteries and other fields
   • Overcapacity problem is prominent in some industries
   • May compress enterprise profit margins

3. Exchange Rate Fluctuations
   • RMB exchange rate fluctuations affect export competitiveness
   • Put pressure on profit margins

4. Geopolitical Risks
   • Sino-US relations affect regional trade patterns
   • Accelerated supply chain restructuring

1. Leaders with Global Competitiveness
   • CATL (dual-drive of power batteries and energy storage)
   • BYD (full industry chain advantage of new energy vehicles)
   • Longi Green Energy (leading photovoltaic technology)

2. Core Links of the Industry Chain
   • Battery material enterprises
   • Semiconductor equipment and material enterprises
   • Core component enterprises of new energy vehicles

3. Enterprises Benefiting from Trade Optimization
   • Enterprises with high export proportion and strong brand power
   • Enterprises with layout in the South Korean market
   • Enterprises with irreplaceable positions in the industry chain

1. Short-term Focus
   :
   • Improvement of export data
   • Quarterly performance exceeding expectations
   • Policy catalysis (e.g., detailed implementation rules of RCEP)

2. Long-term Layout
   :
   • Leading enterprises with global competitiveness
   • Segmented fields with high technical barriers
   • Enterprises with strong bargaining power in the industry chain

3. Risk Control
   :
   • Avoid enterprises overly dependent on a single market
   • Pay attention to trade friction risks
   • Note industry cyclical fluctuations

Against the background of steady growth of Sino-Korean trade, Chinese import and export enterprises present structural opportunities:

:

• New energy vehicles: BYD, NIO, etc.
• Power batteries: CATL, BYD Battery, etc.
• Photovoltaics: Longi Green Energy, Tongwei Co., Ltd., etc.
• Electronic information: Xiaomi industry chain, Huawei industry chain, etc.

:

• Positive: Trade structure upgrade, tariff reduction, deep integration of industry chains
• Negative: Trade frictions, increased competition, exchange rate fluctuations

: It is recommended to focus on leading enterprises with global competitiveness, high technical barriers and benefiting from trade structure optimization, while paying attention to risk control and diversified allocation to cope with the uncertainty of the trade environment.

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[1] Context data provided by users - Sino-Korean trade data in the first 11 months of 2025
[2] Yahoo Finance - Mexico raises tariffs on Asian countries (including China and South Korea) by up to 50%, impacting supply chains of 7 countries including China, South Korea and Taiwan
[3] Yahoo Finance - CMB International: Valuation of mainland “private top ten” is nearly half lower than that of “US tech seven”
[4] Wall Street Journal - Trump administration considers imposing extensive software export restrictions on China
[5] Bloomberg - South Korea Exports Hold Momentum as Chips Set Annual Record (January 1, 2026)
[6] Bloomberg - Lithium May Get Much-Needed Demand Boost From Battery Storage (December 12, 2025)
[7] Yahoo Finance - Leapmotor delivered nearly 600,000 units throughout the year, exceeding the target; new energy vehicles sold well, Xpeng and Xiaomi both met the target
[8] Yahoo Finance - Competing and fighting off Shanghai Airport Duty Free Shop, China Duty Free Group won the bid

: The above analysis is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice. Investors should make prudent decisions based on their own risk tolerance.