Cheap Chinese goods seen as double-edged sword한국 경제의 양날의 칼로 보이는 값싼 중국 상품

[김우정]

작년에 우리나라가 중국에서 직구한 금액은 3조 2,800억원입니다.
알리익스프레스 이용자는 2월에 818만명이고 작년 7월에 진출한 테무는 500만명을 넘었습니다.
이런 움직임과 함께 인천공항이 중국상품의 환적 중심지로 부상하고있습니다.
반면에 우리나라 중소기업들이 중국제품에 밀리고 있습니다.
 
Cheap Chinese goods seen as double-edged sword for Korean economy
한국 경제의 양날의 칼로 보이는 값싼 중국 상품

By Yi Whan-woo 이환우 기자
Posted : 2024-03-29 16:16 Updated : 2024-03-29 16:31
Korea Times

An illustrated image shows the logo of Temu, a Chinese online shopping platform, on a mobile phone screen, March 24. Reuters-Yonhap 중국 온라인 쇼핑 플랫폼인 테무(Temu)의 로고를 휴대전화 화면에 보여주고 있다. 로이터-연합

Cheap Chinese goods are flooding into Korea amid the growing presence of Chinese e-commerce platforms, creating both favorable and unfavorable circumstances for the Korean economy as it tries to lessen reliance on China, according to scholars and consumer groups, Friday.
금요일, 학자들과 소비자 단체들에 따르면, 중국 전자상거래 플랫폼의 증가 속에 값싼 중국산 제품들이 한국으로 밀려들고 있으며, 한국이 중국에 대한 의존도를 낮추려 하면서 한국경제에 유리한 상황과 불리한 상황을 동시에 조성하고 있다고 밝혔다.

China has been dumping goods on global markets to make its way out of weakened domestic consumer demand in the middle of an economic slump.
중국은 경기침체의 한복판에서 약화된 국내소비자 수요에서 벗어나기 위해 세계시장에 상품을 덤핑해 왔다.

Under the circumstances, Korea has emerged as the center of transshipment of goods from China to third countries, mostly those in North America and Europe.
이러한 상황에서 한국은 주로 북미와 유럽 지역을 중심으로 중국에서 제3국으로의 상품 환적의 중심지로 부상하였다.

According to Incheon International Airport Corp., Friday, a total of 98,560 tons of foreign-made goods were transported by air from the airport in 2023, up 43.1 percent from 2022.
금요일 인천국제공항공사에 따르면 2023년 공항에서 항공편으로 수송된 외국산 제품은 총 98,560t으로 2022년 대비 43.1% 증가했다.

Of the goods, 99.6 percent were originally shipped from China. North America accounted for 47 percent of the final destinations, and Europe made up another 31 percent.
상품들 중, 99.6%는 원래 중국에서 선적되었습니다. 북미는 최종 목적지의 47%를 차지했고, 유럽은 또 다른 31%를 차지했습니다.

"Such logistical importance of Korea is a plus factor, especially considering China's economic slowdown is likely to go for next couple of years and that Chinese manufacturers are likely to export more cheap goods," Lee Hun-so0, an air freight logistics expert and professor at Korea Aerospace University, said.
항공화물 물류 전문가이자 이헌수 한국항공대 교수는 "특히 중국의 경기 둔화가 향후 2~3년간 지속될 가능성이 높고 중국 제조업체들이 더 저렴한 상품을 수출할 가능성이 높다는 점을 고려할 때 한국의 이러한 물류적 중요성은 플러스 요인"이라고 말했다.

He referred to the International Monetary Fund's February report, which forecast the growth rate of the Chinese economy to decline further to 3.5 percent by 2028 from 5.2 percent in 2023.
그는 중국 경제성장률이 2023년 5.2%에서 2028년 3.5%로 더 떨어질 것으로 전망한 국제통화기금(IMF)의 2월 보고서를 언급했다.

"Although not intended, China's export of low-priced items is certainly boosting Korea's logistics industry," the professor added.
이 교수는 "의도한 것은 아니지만 중국의 저가품목 수출이 확실히 한국의 물류산업을 활성화시키고 있다"고 덧붙였다.

Apart from transshipments, Chinese online shopping platforms, like AliExpress and Temu, have been making rapid inroads into Korea with a wide range of items that are offered cheaper than Korea-made goods. This includes a wide range of items, some popular ones being apparel, kitchenware, toys, electronic devices, sports equipment and construction tools.
환적 외에도 알리익스프레스, 테무와 같은 중국 온라인 쇼핑 플랫폼은 한국산 제품보다 저렴한 다양한 품목으로 한국에 빠르게 진출하고 있다. 여기에는 의류, 주방용품, 장난감, 전자기기, 스포츠 장비 및 건설 도구 등 다양한 품목이 포함된다.

The number of AliExpress users in Korea surged to 8.18 million in February from 3.5 million a year earlier.
국내 알리익스프레스 이용자 수는 전년 동월 350만명에서 2월 818만명으로 급증했다.

Regarding Temu, it only advanced to Korea in July 2023, about five years after AliExpress did so. Nevertheless, Temu managed to attract more than 5 million in the first year of doing business in Korea.
테무와 관련해서는 알리익스프레스가 진출한 지 약 5년 만인 2023년 7월에야 한국에 진출했다. 그럼에도 불구하고 테무는 한국에서 사업을 시작한 첫 해에 500만 명 이상을 유치하는 데 성공했다.

Consequently, China surpassed the United States to become the top direct purchase choice for Korean online shoppers.
그 결과, 중국은 미국을 제치고 한국 온라인 쇼핑객들의 가장 높은 직구 선택지가 되었다.

Out of the total 6.75 trillion won ($5.01 billion) spent by Korean shoppers on overseas direct purchases, China accounted for 3.28 trillion won, or about 48 percent, in 2023.
한국인 쇼핑객이 해외직구에 지출한 총 6조7,500억원(50억1000만달러) 중 중국이 차지하는 비중은 2023년 3조2,800억원(약 48%)에 달했다.

The Korea National Council of Consumer Organization, a Seoul-based advocacy group for consumers, assessed China's "export of deflation" has a positive aspect for budget-conscious Korean households in the era of high inflation.
서울에 본부를 둔 소비자 옹호 단체인 한국소비자단체협의회는 중국의 '디플레이션 수출'이 고물가 시대에 예산에 민감한 한국 가계에 긍정적인 측면이 있다고 평가했다.

While many Koreans favor these Chinese online shopping platforms in the middle of the high cost of living, some experts warned that the shopping trend may deal a blow to Korean manufacturers, as many of them are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and lag behind Chinese rivals in terms of cost competitiveness.
많은 한국인들이 높은 생활비 속에서 이들 중국 온라인 쇼핑 플랫폼을 선호하는 반면, 일부 전문가들은 상당수가 중소기업이고 원가 경쟁력 측면에서 중국 경쟁업체에 뒤처져 있어 쇼핑 트렌드가 한국 제조업체에 타격을 줄 수도 있다고 경고했다.

"SMEs may shut down operations and go bankrupt in the worst case, as the door is now open wider for more cheap Chinese goods to come into Korea," Jeong Eun-ae, a Korea Small Business Institute researcher, said.
정은애 중소기업연구원 연구위원은 "중소기업들은 이제 값싼 중국산 제품들이 한국으로 들어올 수 있는 문이 더 넓어졌기 때문에 최악의 경우 영업을 중단하고 파산할 수도 있다,"고 말했다.

Dankook University business administration professor Jung Yeon-sung viewed that China may "exploit its leverage in Korea's online shopping market to take economic retaliation," as witnessed in China's sharp response to a U.S. THAAD missile shield being deployed in Korea in 2017.
정연성 단국대 경영학과 교수는 2017년 미국의 사드 (THAAD고고도미사일방어체계) 가 한국에 배치된 것에 대한 대응에서 보듯이  중국이 "한국의 온라인 쇼핑 시장에서 지렛대를 이용해 경제적 보복을 할 수 있다"고 봤다.

#Chinesegoods중국상품 #Koreaneconomy한국경제 #Onlineshoppingplatforms 온라인쇼핑플랫폼 #Logisticsindustry물류산업 #Economicslump경기침체 #Small andmedium-sizedenterprises(SMEs)중소기업 #Costcompetitiveness가격경쟁력 #Directpurchase직구 #Consumergroups소비자단체 #Economicretaliation경제 보복