Chinese tech giant Xiaomi (XIACF) has put further pressure on U.S. tech rival Apple (AAPL) by becoming the smartphone gift every Chinese-friendly President wants to have.
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State Gifts
According to a report in the South China Morning Post, Xiaomi’s smartphones are now being utilized as a state gift between leaders of state.
Last weekend, a pair of the company’s handsets were presented as pressies by Chinese leader President Xi Jinping to his South Korean counterpart Lee Jae-myung.
Adding to the charm offensive, Xi’s interpreter reportedly pointed out that the displays on the Xiaomi smartphones were made in South Korea.
This marked the first known instance when Xiaomi’s smartphones were presented as state gifts to a foreign head of state. However, last month Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro praised a Huawei Technologies Mate X6 smartphone reportedly gifted to him by Xi. He is said to have called it the best phone in the world.
“The Xiaomi smartphone gift giving is a significant move in both tech diplomacy and national pride,” said Su Lian Jye, chief analyst at tech consultancy Omdia. “It underscores China’s confidence in its domestic tech brands amid geopolitical tensions.”
Chinese Confidence
There is every reason to be confident. Last month Xiaomi declared that initial sales of its new 17-series smartphones, built to compete directly with Apple, had been doing impressively well.
Its shares have also dialed higher this year – see below:
Apple has been feeling the pressure in China due to that more intense competition from China’s domestic phone brands, weak consumer demand and the U.S./China trade war.
Although last week it provided a more positive signal declaring that sales of its iPhone 17 in China had exceeded expectations just two weeks after its launch.
If Apple isn’t bristling at the exchange of gifts, then there is one person who will be. President Trump. He had his own recent meeting with Xi, but no reports of any Xiaomi-sized gift boxes were spotted being handed over.
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