Ukraine has added Xiaomi to the list of international sponsors of the war, according to the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP). The NACP’s press service reported this.
The company has been listed as one of the international sponsors of the war due to its continued operations in Russia after the start of the great war. In addition, Xiaomi remains the leader in smartphone sales in Russia.
Since 2018, Xiaomi has held the top spot in sales in the aggressor’s online stores and has a large network of official authorized Mi Store retail stores throughout the country.
Xiaomi increased its shipments to Russia by 39% in the third quarter of 2022 compared to the previous one – that is, during the height of the great war. Throughout 2022, Xiaomi doubled its market share: in July 2022, Xiaomi and its sub-brand POCO together held 42% of the Russian smartphone market and ranked first in terms of sales volume.
The Russian market is extremely important for the Chinese company, so Xiaomi has not announced any plans to exit Russia, although it has not engaged in marketing activities in the aggressor state since last spring.
According to official data, in 2021, Xiaomi’s Russian branch earned revenue of $202 million, of which taxes are paid, which are used by Russia to maintain its army.
Currently, Xiaomi is actively restoring the staff to its Russian offices and has announced the official start of sales of flagship smartphones, indicating the company’s intentions to restore a full presence in Russia.
Thus, NACP accuses Xiaomi corporation of sponsoring military aggression.
The agency also reminded that in 2021, the company became the world leader in smartphone production volume, and also manufactures household appliances, tablets, smartwatches, software, electric scooters, electric bicycles, and much more.