China's Big Smile in Russia's Smartphone Market Without Samsung and Apple

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Chinese smartphone companies such as Xiaomi are performing well in the Russian market, where Samsung Electronics and Apple are absent. Photo by Xiaomi

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Se-eun] As major smartphone companies like Samsung Electronics and Apple have stopped exports to Russia due to the Ukraine war, China has unexpectedly become a beneficiary.

According to MTS, Russia's largest mobile carrier, on the 10th (local time), Chinese companies such as Xiaomi, Realme, and Honor accounted for 42% of the Russian smartphone market in May. This is a 14 percentage point increase compared to the same period last year.

The reason behind this is that Samsung Electronics and Apple halted sales of new products as sanctions against Russia, which launched the invasion of Ukraine, were imposed. The products of these two companies are only being sold with the stock secured by local Russian retailers.

In particular, Samsung Electronics, which had held the number one market share in Russia since 2007, recorded only 14% this year, half of the same period last year. Apple’s share fell by 3 percentage points from 12% to 9%.

Recently, Chinese companies like Xiaomi have been increasing their influence in the Russian smartphone market by leveraging price competitiveness. With the unexpected 'Russian sanctions' added, China’s windfall gains are expected to grow even larger.

However, this market trend is not expected to have a significant impact on the sales of Samsung Electronics and Apple, as the Russian market accounts for only 2% of the global smartphone market.

Meanwhile, Chinese smartphone companies are struggling in countries other than Russia.

Recently, with the resurgence of COVID-19 in China leading to entire cities being locked down and factories unable to operate, smartphone production and sales have suffered a major blow.

Global supply chain instability is also cited as a reason for difficulties. Chinese companies are known to be behind Samsung Electronics and Apple in their ability to procure components such as semiconductors.

Furthermore, in India, relations with China have been poor since the border conflict in 2020. The Indian government has imposed retaliatory regulations on Chinese companies such as Xiaomi, Vivo, and ZTE.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.