Haifeng looked across the table at Lei Jun and spoke with his usual calm precision.
"President Lei, I'll accept the 800 RMB per unit (≈ $110) offer for the Qinglong chip… but only under one condition."
Lei raised an eyebrow.
"A bigger order."
Haifeng nodded.
"One million units. Minimum."
It was a clear strategy:
At 800 RMB, profit was lean
But at 1 million chips, it still netted 800 million RMB (≈ $110 million)
More importantly, it guaranteed market penetration while preserving exclusivity for high-end lines
Haifeng wasn't just selling chips—he was setting the rules for the battlefield.
Lei blinked, processing the numbers.
One million… that's double what I came in expecting.
Still, the terms weren't unreasonable. It wasn't a demand—it was a negotiation anchor.
Lei valued the price
Haifeng valued the volume
Both sides would win if both conditions were met.
But Lei had one more concern.
He asked the question every manufacturer in his position would:
"Will you be selling the Qinglong chip to other companies?"
Haifeng smiled and leaned back.
"Of course."
"A chip this good shouldn't be monopolized."
Lei's face dropped. The smile froze on his lips.
If everyone uses Qinglong, what competitive edge does Xiaomi have left?
Haifeng noticed the change and followed up:
"But, because of our current good relationship, I'll offer Xiaomi a special deal."
"You'll get it for 800 RMB.
Other companies? Around 1,000 RMB (≈ $137.59)."
"And I'll have our lab assist your engineers in optimizing MIUI for this chip.
You'll also have exclusive rights for low-end models. We won't use Qinglong there going forward."
That softened the blow. Lei's eyes lit up again.
Let's break it down:
Xiaomi would get:
A top-tier chip at cost
System-level optimization help from China Star Lab
A semi-exclusive use-case advantage in the sub-1,000 RMB market
Lei knew that even with tight profit margins, this deal let Xiaomi build a flagship rival to the Hongmeng S1R or even the X1.
He smiled faintly.
"Not bad. Expensive… but not a loss."
Haifeng leaned in with the final offer:
"For orders above 1 million units, the price stays at 800 RMB.
If you exceed 2 million units—750 RMB per chip (≈ $103.19)."
It was a high-volume discount strategy straight from the playbook of tech empires.
Lei did the math again:
1 million chips = 800 million RMB
He'd already spent more on failed R&D projects
So he gave a slow nod.
"We'll take it. I'll have the team prepare the contract immediately."
Haifeng added:
"We've got 500,000 chips in stock—those can ship now.
The rest will be ready by the end of May."
Lei Jun was stunned.
"You already pre-built inventory?"
Haifeng smiled.
"I don't start wars without ammo."
The two men shook hands.
It's a million-chip deal.
Signed in one afternoon.
China Star's first external chip licensing partner was officially Xiaomi.