The sanctions imposed by Donald Trump on Xiaomi in 2021 have prompted the company to enter the electric car sector. Lei Jun, the brand’s CEO, believes that the SU7 may never have come to be if the former American president had not made that decision.
Did Trump enable Xiaomi to be where it is today?
The Chinese company Xiaomi probably would have never ventured into the automobile industry without Donald Trump. This revelation was made by Lei Jun, the brand’s CEO, during a conference held on July 19, 2024, in Beijing. According to him, the sanctions imposed on Xiaomi in early 2021 were the triggering factor that allowed the company to venture into the electric car sector.
At that time, the Trump administration decided to put Xiaomi on the “blacklist.” As a result, the Chinese manufacturer could no longer be funded by American investors. To justify his decision, Donald Trump had stated that Xiaomi was a “Chinese communist military company.” The company was not the only one targeted by sanctions; TikTok and Huawei were also on the list.
The drive to diversify following sanctions
Although better known for its smartphones and home appliances, Xiaomi decided to enter the automotive industry, specifically focusing on electric cars. A highly competitive market in China in 2021. Lei Jun explains, “I received a phone call from a friend telling me that we had been sanctioned in the United States. It was like a thunderbolt.”
Shortly after, he convened his board of directors. It was at that moment that he kickstarted the development of an electric car. To diversify Xiaomi’s activities and avoid risking everything. “If it weren’t for the impact of American sanctions, we wouldn’t have impulsively entered the automotive sector,” emphasizes the company’s CEO.
Three years later, the Xiaomi SU7 was born
Xiaomi contested the sanctions imposed by Donald Trump and succeeded in May 2021 with the Biden administration. However, by that time, the development of the brand’s first electric car was already well underway. Xiaomi therefore decided to continue down this path, until March 28, 2024. On this date, the Chinese brand officially opened orders for the SU7.
“I must thank the incident that occurred three years ago,” Lei Jun adds. The former American president, again a candidate for the White House, recently stated that if elected in November, he would impose “tariffs of up to 200%” on Chinese electric cars. However, he promises to “support Chinese investments in factories in the United States.”