US Removes Xiaomi from Blacklist, as Sales Boom

Xiaomi Back in USA’s Good Books 

Former President of US, Donald Trump, had his tenure marked by an ugly trade war between Washington and Beijing, which cumulated in sanctions by the United States against Chinese phone manufacturer, Huawei. In addition, before the end of his mandate, the Trump administration had also placed Xiaomi on a blacklist of the Department of Defense.

Although, these sanctions were different from those suffered by Huawei, nonetheless, the fact that Xiaomi was on the Pentagon’s list of “Chinese Communist Military Companies” prohibited Americans from investing in the group.

Xiaomi of course denied these accusations and to defend its interests, brought the case to the American judiciary. A first victory was won on March 15, when the judge ordered the provisional removal of Xiaomi from this Pentagon list.

Earlier this May, we learned that the US government has finally made the ultimate decision to no longer include Xiaomi on the list. As reported in a Bloomberg article, the two parties reached an agreement that would allow the dispute to be resolved amicably, without any dispute.

And yesterday, May 26th, Xiaomi officially left this Pentagon list, as was announced by the Chinese company on its website:

The District Court of the District of Columbia has issued a final order overturning Xiaomi’s designation by the Department of Defense as a “Chinese Communist Military Society” (CCMC).

“The company is grateful for the trust and support of its users, partners, employees and shareholders around the world. The company reaffirms that it is a public, transparent, publicly traded, independently operated and managed company. The company will continue to provide reliable consumer electronics products and services to users and relentlessly create amazing products at honest prices to enable everyone in the world to enjoy a better life through innovative technology,” read the press release on the website.

Xiaomi can therefore breathe since it will continue to benefit from American investments.

Xiaomi Becoming an Inevitable Force

The good news continues for Xiaomi. Indeed, the manufacturer has also just announced its quarterly results for the first three months of 2021. During this period, taking advantage of Huawei’s decline, the group posted record performance.

During the quarter, Xiaomi generated more than 9.8 billion euros, an increase of 54.7 percent compared to the same period in 2020. In all, the company shipped more than 49.4 million smartphones and the revenues generated by these smartphones have increased by 69.8% compared to the same period in 2020.

“During the first quarter of 2021, our total sales and adjusted net income reached record levels during the quarter, demonstrating the strength of our business model and the solid execution of our strategies. The strong growth in smartphone shipments has led to a continued expansion of our global user base. Our AIoT platform has continued to evolve in tandem across the world,” the company says.

Note also that Xiaomi continues to progress in the premium smartphone segment, in which it competes with Apple. Indeed, during the quarter, Xiaomi shipped more than 4 million high-end devices and its market share in this segment was 16.1%.

Currently, Xiaomi’s premium offer includes the Mi 11 as well as the Mi 11 Ultra, flagship devices that are available in Nigeria for over half a million naira.