Korean Lawmakers to Visit Huawei's Shanghai R&D Campus

South Korea's National Assembly Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee will visit Huawei's Lianqiuhu Research and Development Center in Shanghai. The delegation aims to observe China's rapidly growing R&D ecosystem in semiconductors, robotics and artificial intelligence firsthand and foster bipartisan cooperation to enhance Korea's high-tech industrial competitiveness.

According to Seoul Economic Daily on the 11th, 17 lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties, including committee chairman Lee Cheol-gyu, plan to visit the Huawei Lianqiuhu R&D Center in Shanghai on a three-day trip starting the 16th of this month. Visits to various robotics research complexes in Shanghai are also being arranged. Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Kim Jeong-kwan will join part of the itinerary.

"We want to see and experience China's industrial sites firsthand to build consensus on strengthening competitiveness in our high-tech strategic industries," Chairman Lee said, explaining the purpose of the China visit.

The bipartisan delegation's visit to the Shanghai Huawei campus reflects urgent concerns about countering China's aggressive technological advances that now threaten even the United States. Committee members say politicians must work together substantively, given the industry's accepted reality that "half of the world's AI developers are Chinese."

Kim Won-yi, the ruling party's chief secretary on the committee, said, "We must squarely face China's current state in high-tech strategic industries and develop national-level countermeasures together across party and government lines. This is an attempt to discuss systems, laws, policies and budgets comprehensively to enhance global competitiveness in high-tech strategic industries and future growth engines."

Industry officials are also wary of China's rapid capture of global markets in semiconductors, robotics and AI, backed by massive state-level investment and workforce support. Experts say Korea must also reassess its relevant systems and overall research environment.

Amid this sense of crisis, the ruling and opposition parties are considering issuing a joint statement tentatively called the "Shanghai Declaration" during their China visit. The declaration is expected to contain comprehensive content including the need for national-level policy measures to respond to the rapid rise of China's high-tech strategic industries. The plan is to use the shared concerns confirmed by both parties on site as a starting point for future discussions on institutional reforms.

Huawei established the Lianqiuhu R&D Center in Shanghai's Qingpu District in 2024 and launched full-scale research and development. Approximately 30,000 R&D personnel in semiconductors, wireless networks and Internet of Things are researching advanced technologies there. The R&D center, built with an investment of approximately 1.95 trillion won, is reportedly larger than Apple Park in Silicon Valley and Microsoft's Redmond campus in Washington state combined.

Attention is on whether this Shanghai visit will lead to actual discussions on deregulation for Korea's high-tech strategic industries. In particular, there are predictions that National Assembly discussions on R&D sector exemptions from the 52-hour workweek, which stalled after passage of the Special Act on Strengthening Competitiveness and Support for the Semiconductor Industry, could resume.

While working hour flexibility is not a main agenda item for this committee's China visit, related discussions may naturally arise during the site visits. This is because China allows relatively broad working hours for R&D personnel.

The People Power Party believes exemptions from the 52-hour workweek for R&D sectors are necessary for intensive development of high-tech industries. Since some ruling party members do not oppose such discussions, observers say this trip could trigger resumption of National Assembly deliberations.

Separately, the National Assembly continues legislative attempts to introduce working hour flexibility for R&D sectors. On the 5th of this month, Rep. Kim Wi-sang of the People Power Party, a member of the Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee, introduced a Labor Standards Act amendment that would require workplaces adopting 52-hour workweek exemptions for R&D sectors to implement a 4.5-day workweek. His position is to bring discussions on working hour exemptions for R&D back to the negotiating table.

Discussions on 52-hour workweek exemptions have centered on the semiconductor special act under the Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee's jurisdiction. However, when the bill passed the National Assembly and Cabinet meeting in January without the "52-hour workweek exemption clause" that was the core issue, most discussions on working hour flexibility have shifted to the Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee.