Xiaomi products are not banned from sale in Ukraine yet. The Chinese company – one of the largest global suppliers of smartphones – is categorically against the accusations.
Xiaomi office building in Beijing – illustrative photo. Image credit: Jon Russell via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0
Ukrainian National Agency for Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) has recently included Xiaomi in the list of companies sponsoring the war in Ukraine.
“The company not only continued its work in Russia after a full-scale invasion, but still remains the leader in sales of smartphones in the terrorist state,” stated the press service of the NACP. It also said that sales of Xiaomi products in the Russian market increased by 39% in mid-2022, after the start of the invasion of Ukraine.
The official answer from Xiaomi was published on Twitter. Here, the company said it denies any involvement in sponsoring the Russian military. “Xiaomi does not support any military action, but fully supports world peace,” the message said, adding that its desire is “to make the lives of people in the world better thanks to innovative technologies.”
Ukrainian NCAP reacted to this message by posting a photo of Russian president Vladimir Putin holding a smartphone, with a quote where he said that he is grateful to Xiaomi for “having a right to access to their communication tools”.
Will Xiaomi smartphones be banned in Ukraine?
The decision of NCAP does not mean an immediate ban on Xiaomi’s products. Such trade limitation can be done only if the President, the Cabinet of Ministers, the National Bank, or the Security Service of Ukraine submit such a proposal to the National Security and Defense Council. Then, the council’s duty would be to analyze this proposal and decide whether to proceed with such a course of action or not.
As the Ukrainian news portal Focus noted, the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption does not have the power to impose trade bans. Instead, its decisions are of an advisory kind – through them, the institution informs users what companies and products are associated with supporting the ongoing war, either through taxes or through specific technologies, such as communications tools.
While this news does not mean any trade restrictions for Xiaomi, local distributors are free to make their own decisions about the products they sell to local users.
Mobile operators and major retail chains operating in the Ukrainian market have not commented on this situation yet.
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