BEIJING: Dong Mingzhu, president of Gree Electric Appliances Inc became furious after learning that Xiaomi bought shares in Gree’s major competitor Medea last week.
“Two swindlers working together makes into a fraud group,” Dong told Chinese media.
“But I am not worried. If one day you [Medea and Xiaomi] own more patents than me or the qualities of your products are better than mine, I will feel anxious and try to make changes to myself,” she said.
Chinese Smartphone maker Xiaomi on Sunday announced a 1.26 billion yuan ($204 million) share purchase in Medea, a deal aimed at boosting its presence in the market for internet-connected home electronics.
Medea a Guangdong-based manufacturer that produces a range of home appliances, including air conditioners, fridges, and kitchen appliances, which highly coincide with Gree’s product lines, is one of the major competitors to Gree in the Chinese market.
Dong accused the two leading Chinese manufacturers of being “swindlers” on the ground that several of Medea’s air conditioners have illegally utilized Gree’s patents, and Medea was ordered by a Chinese court to compensate Gree as much as 2 million yuan ($323,000) for the infringement.
