China has surpassed Korea in terms of competitiveness in most advanced manufacturing industries, except for memory chip technologies, a local think tank said Tuesday. China has a considerable competitive edge over Korea in robotics, electric vehicles (EVs), battery and also semiconductor industries, excluding the memory chip sector, the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade (KIET) said in its latest report on the countries' competitiveness in advanced industries. The report is based on a survey conducted on industrial experts in September. By sector, Korea held a slight edge in research and development capabilities in the industrial robots sector, including product development and design, but China led in component procurement capacity, mass production and in terms of presence in overseas markets. In the EV sector, Korean companies were more competitive in after-sales service with a greater combined share in the global market, while Chinese firms showed much more strength in autonomous driving technologies. In the semiconductor sector, Korea continued to show leadership in mem