China's "Steve Jobs" Lei Jun, founder and CEO of the fast-rising handset-maker Xiaomi Corp., wants his mobile company to be a global top producer in five to 10 years.
General counsel and senior vice-president of legal and government affairs Bruce Sewell of Apple Inc. said in a panel discussion during the World Internet Conference that Xiaomi has indeed progressed as one of the most competitive phone producers in China. He said this as a compliment to Lei, who was sitting beside him during the three-day conference in Wuzhen, Zhejiang Province. The event concluded on Nov. 21.
While Lei previously claimed that Xiaomi will become the world's leading smartphone company in the market, he took it back recently, saying, "It is easy to say, it is more difficult to do."
In addition, Lei humbly redeemed himself when he said that in China, as he described as a "magic land," big companies like Alibaba are not the only ones produced, but also small "miracles" like Xiaomi.
Xiaomi first released their product three years ago and further developed into a progressive Beijing-based company, ranking as the world's third-largest company in shipment volume at the end of the third quarter in 2014.
Aside from Xiaomi, there is a small number of companies in China that have been creating Android smartphones that are cheaper than Apple products. The growth of China's phone industry is seen as taking an unprecedented speed.
Critics said that Chinese players have evolved from being mere followers of the Western market to being their neck-and-neck competitors.