Xiaomi confirms plans to enter Japan in 2020 with smartphones and wearables

Xiaomi, which has taken the Indian smartphone market by storm, is all set to enter Japan in 2020. That’s according to a new report from Nikkei Asian Review , which says the confirmation came directly from Xiaomi’s head of international business, Wang Xiang. According to reports, the Chinese tech giant plans to offer a fairly robust portfolio in the country, including multiple smartphone models and connected wearable devices.

There are no plans for a launch yet, but Wang said he expects it to happen sometime next year. According to him, “I should be able to enter (Japan) in 2020. The sooner the better.” But he declined to provide details about sales targets or specific products, saying the company wants to offer devices that consumers want to use on a daily basis. “We want to deliver products to Japan that Japanese consumers can enjoy,” he said.

Wang also reportedly said that the company is considering partnering with domestic wireless carriers, although he did not mention specific names. As in the US, carriers are the largest smartphone distributors in Japan, so companies that don’t partner with service providers typically struggle to gain traction in Japan.

In a conversation with Japanese media on Monday, Wang sought to downplay data privacy concerns surrounding Chinese companies, pointing to their performance in Europe since arriving on the continent at the start of the decade. “We are … working with Google. We have a track record of respecting personal data protection rules in Europe and we intend to do the same in Japan,” he said.