Asian Tech Press (Apr 14) -- Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp (1810.HK) said in a statement on Friday that it strongly opposed Ukraine's labelling of it as an "International sponsor of war".
Ukraine's National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NAZK or NACP) has added the Chinese company Xiaomi to its list of "International sponsors of war", the agency said on its official website and on Twitter on Thursday, local time.
The official statement cited the fact that Xiaomi is still operating in Russia even after Russia's full-scale invasion into Ukraine as one of the reasons.
Another reason mentioned by NAZK is that Xiaomi is the market leader in smartphone sales in Russia. When Ukraine was attacked by Russia, Xiaomi's deliveries in Russia increased by 37% in the third quarter of 2022 compared to the previous quarter.
In terms of sales share, Xiaomi and its sub-brand POCO took 42% of the Russian smartphone market, making it number one in terms of sales.
According to NAZK, official figures show that Xiaomi earned $202 million in revenue in 2021. With such huge revenues, Xiaomi has paid a high amount of taxes to Russia. The agency claimed that Russia is using these tax returns to wage war and influence Ukraine.
In response, Xiaomi issued a statement on Friday strongly opposing NAZK's designation as an "International sponsor of war".
The statement reads: "Xiaomi is a consumer electronics company, offering products solely for civilian and commercial use. We believe that every consumer in the world has the right to access comunication tools and information on the internet. We have consumer businesses in more than 100 countries and regions, and adhere to all laws and regulations in every jurisdiction where we operate."
"We are strongly against the accusation from the Ukrainian National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) that we are 'International sponsor of war'. We don't support any war actions. We fully embrace world peace. Our mission is to let everyone in the world enjoy a better life through innovative technologies," Xiaomi stressed.
So far, 21 companies have been flagged in the list as "International sponsors of war" by NACP.
Once a company is included in the list, it is automatically included in World-Check, a database that is used worldwide to identify high-risk individuals and organisations. Thereafter, it is difficult for other multinational companies to trust such risky groups and companies.
