https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/7/16610720/xiaomi-spain-mi-mix-2-launch-europe-android-business

Xiaomi, one of the big stars of China’s explosive growth in online retail and smartphones, is coming to Europe, and it’s doing so with a grand launch event in the Spanish capital of Madrid. For Xiaomi, this is just the latest stage in a long-term expansion plan that aims to transform the company from a self-described startup into a globally recognized brand. But for the mass of people in Europe, today’s event marks a transition: it turns the distant and exotic Chinese retailer into a real entity selling real products on our home continent. This is a pretty big deal from a company that’s as innovative with its retail strategies as it is with its device manufacturing.

Ahead of today’s announcement, I spoke with Wang Xiang, the senior VP responsible for Xiaomi’s international business, sales, marketing, and legal and IP strategy. He has been with the company since the summer of 2015, having previously served as the president of Qualcomm in China. “I was the person to work with Xiaomi from day one,” he tells me, “and I personally built the partnership between the two companies.” Day one for Xiaomi as a hardware company was way back in 2011 with the original Xiaomi Phone, and Wang and Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun have been partners or collaborators in some form ever since.