Lee Jae-yong Visits BYD Headquarters Following Xiaomi... Boosting Automotive Electronics Business?

Moved to BYD Headquarters After China Development Forum
Expansion of Automotive Electric Components Business Expected
Possibility of Meeting with Xi Jinping on the 28th Raised

Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics, who is on a business trip to China to attend the China Development Forum (CDF), visited the headquarters of BYD, the world's largest electric vehicle company, following his visit to Xiaomi's electric vehicle factory.

Chairman Lee recently emphasized a sense of crisis with the message "Sa-jeuk-saeng (If you want to live, you must be prepared to die)," and it is interpreted that he is expanding Samsung's electric components business by visiting local Chinese automobile companies one after another.

Yonhap News

According to business circles on the 24th, after completing the CDF schedule held at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, Chairman Lee visited BYD's headquarters in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, in the afternoon. BYD is China's largest electric vehicle company and surpassed Tesla in the U.S. last year to become the world's number one in electric vehicle sales. Earlier this year, BYD officially entered the Korean market, expanding its overseas sales channels.

Previously, on the 22nd, the day after attending the CDF opening ceremony, Chairman Lee visited Xiaomi's automobile factory in Beijing and met with Lei Jun, Chairman of Xiaomi. He then left Beijing and arrived in Shenzhen.

As Chairman Lee meets with local Chinese automobile companies one after another, the possibility of Samsung expanding its automotive electric components business in China has increased. Some speculate that Chairman Lee may meet consecutively with other major local companies in Shenzhen, such as Huawei, China's largest telecommunications equipment company, and Vivo, a smartphone manufacturer.

Meanwhile, there is growing interest in the possibility that Chairman Lee will participate in a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and some overseas company CEOs attending the CDF on the 28th.