China's global competitiveness and technological prowess were found to have significantly surpassed those of South Korea since the two countries forged diplomatic relations 30 years ago.

Marking the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations on Wednesday, the Federation of Korean Industries(FKI) said China's nominal gross domestic product(GDP) stood at 17-point-five trillion dollars last year, over 35 times larger than the figure in 1992.

South Korea's nominal GDP, meanwhile, only grew about five times to one-point-eight trillion dollars during the same period.

South Korea's outbound shipments grew over eight times to 644-point-four billion dollars last year, while China’s expanded 39 times to three-point-four trillion dollars.

There were 16 South Korean companies ranked on the Fortune Global 500 by sales this year, compared to 136 Chinese firms. South Korea had the biggest global market share of 77 items in 2020, while China claimed one-thousand-798.

The FKI called for revisions to the bilateral free trade agreement(FTA), Seoul's participation in the U.S.-led Chip Four semiconductor supply chain alliance and regulatory reforms at home to maintain the nation's competitive edge.