Midea and Xiaomi's patent war: allies turned adversaries in China's smart‑home battleground

Lawsuit marks new low in a decadelong relationship

Midea (美的) has escalated a patent battle against former partner Xiaomi (小米), filing suit in the Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court through its unit Guangdong Midea Refrigeration Equipment Co., the company has announced. The complaint names multiple Xiaomi entities — Beijing Xiaomi Electronic Product Co., Xiaomi Technology Co., Xiaomi Communications Technology Co. — as well as online platform Zhejiang Tmall Network Co., alleging infringement of invention patents. The case is linked to three earlier lawsuits (numbered 88–90) and now forms part of a broader litigation matrix; the new, 91st case did not disclose a concrete damages figure.

From strategic partners to courtroom opponents

This battle is striking because the two firms were once strategic collaborators. In 2014 Midea announced a deep strategic cooperation with Xiaomi and proposed a targeted placement of 55 million shares to Xiaomi at RMB 23.01 per share — a deal capped at about RMB 1.266 billion — which would have left Xiaomi holding roughly 1.29% of Midea. Midea later recorded an available‑for‑sale investment in Xiaomi of about RMB 1.273 billion in its 2015 annual report. So what went wrong? Over the past decade Xiaomi has aggressively expanded from smartphones into smart home appliances, encroaching on territory long protected by traditional white‑goods giants.

A pattern of IP fights and industry realignment

Patent fights are not new in China’s appliance and IoT sectors. Midea has twice challenged Xiaomi patents at the China National Intellectual Property Administration, contesting inventions titled “smart appliance control method, device and terminal” (ZL201410112307.0) and “connection release method and device” (ZL201510595907.1). Earlier, Gree (格力) successfully sued over a Mijia fan design and secured RMB 1.85 million from the manufacturer. Xiaomi has pushed back publicly, saying many disputed products are made and managed by ecosystem partners rather than Xiaomi proper. It has been reported that Xiaomi’s appliance division is now pivoting from a “value” play toward stricter quality controls and higher‑end ambitions — a strategic shift that raises the stakes of these IP fights.

Why this matters beyond China

For Western readers: this is not just a domestic spat. Xiaomi’s transformation from phone maker to platform owner — selling devices, services and an app‑driven smart‑home ecosystem — pits it directly against incumbents whose competitive edges rest on decades of hardware expertise. The friction highlights broader trends in China’s tech landscape: aggressive ecosystem expansion by internet firms, increasingly litigious IP enforcement, and the risks that follow when cross‑shareholdings and strategic ties sour. Reportedly, Xiaomi’s appliances hit record sales in 2025 and the company has set lofty market share targets for 2030. With billions already invested and thousands of patents at play, the question is simple: who will blink first?