Serbia’s President Vučić Tours Xiaomi (小米) Auto Plant, Jokes He “Can’t Afford” YU7 as Lei Jun Fires Back on Weibo

Visit highlights: a national anthem and a punchline

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić (武契奇), on a state visit to China, visited Xiaomi Automobile (小米汽车)’s Beijing factory yesterday and sat in the driver’s seat of the company’s new YU7 model. Video from the visit showed the Serbian national anthem played inside the car as Vučić inspected the cabin. When asked by reporters whether he would take a YU7 home, he smiled and quipped, “The car is beautiful, but I can’t afford it.”

Social-media volley and sales theatre

Xiaomi founder Lei Jun (雷军) responded on Weibo, addressing the president as “Mr. President” and stating that the YU7 standard version is priced at 233,500 yuan, reportedly adding a dog-head emoji — a post that quickly sparked online attention and pushed related topics onto Chinese trending lists. It has been reported that media coverage of the visit circulated widely, amplifying Xiaomi’s consumer-facing moment during an otherwise diplomatic itinerary.

Commerce meets diplomacy

It has been reported that Vučić did not leave empty-handed: while touring the factory’s souvenir area he asked where to pay and, reportedly, his entourage purchased four Xiaomi SU7 Ultra alloy car models and one SU7 Ultra fridge magnet. The visit underscores how China is marrying commercial showpieces — especially in the fast-growing electric vehicle and consumer-tech sectors — with high-level diplomacy. Why does this matter to Western readers? Serbia, outside the EU and cultivating close ties with Beijing, often features in China’s outreach to Europe; such visits can double as soft-power demonstrations of Chinese manufacturing and tech prowess amid broader geopolitical tensions over trade, tech transfer and export controls.