Xiaomi's Phones Have Conquered China. Now It's Aiming for the Rest of the World

On May 15, behind the curving, imperial facade of the China National Convention Center in Beijing, a veteran technology executive named Lei Jun walks onstage before a thousand raucous fans and members of the media. It’s a familiar scene everywhere now, and like many technology chiefs, Lei peppers his talk by ticking off some of the recent successes enjoyed by his company, the mobile device maker Xiaomi. Sales have been higher than expected; more than 50 million people use the company’s MIUI operating system. Then he gets to the new products, which today are a smart TV that can be controlled with an app and an Android-powered tablet computer, called Mi Pad, that comes in five colors and is priced to undercut the iPad mini. “I hope through our endeavor we can make Apple feel some pressure,” Lei says.

The crowd reacts to each product revelation as if it’s a World Cup goal. The hardware is indeed slick—the TV has the latest high-def specs, and the tablets are the first devices to use the newest processor from chipmaker Nvidia. But Lei is delivering another, more potent message. He’s effectively giving an hourlong demonstration of an historic moment: China, for the first time, has its own technology brand that consumers truly lust after.