35: Want to form an alliance

Inside the Xiaomi lab, after the Engineer disassembled the Kunpeng mobile phone, they found that this type-c interface was superior to the previous Micro interface from any angle.

The only downside was that Xiaomi did not have the authorization to use this interface.

After considering it, Lei Jun decided to personally visit Red Star and talk with Chen Chen about the authorization for this interface.

Every time he saw Chen Chen, Lei Jun felt a sense of déjà vu about this young man.

The da mi 1st generation launch event was their first meeting; Lei Jun had felt that strong sensation then, especially when Chen Chen looked at him with an inexplicably complex gaze.

Due to their hurried first meeting and almost no contact over the following year, the two truly became competitors after Chen Chen released the 1998-yuan Red Star 1st generation.

On September 16th, Red Star received a visit request from Xiaomi. Lei Jun didn't call Chen Chen on his private line but followed corporate procedures instead; it seemed there was corporate cooperation to discuss.

Chen Chen was a bit puzzled by Lei Jun's sudden request for a meeting, but after a moment's thought, he agreed.

Red Star currently had no business dealings with Xiaomi. For Lei Jun to visit Red Star in person, he likely needed something. Thinking it over, it could only be charging technology, screen panels, or the type-c interface. In terms of charging technology, Xiaomi had already reached 18 watts; while there was still a gap compared to Red Star, Lei Jun definitely wouldn't come to the company to talk in person just for that.

Not to mention screen panels; Red Star had exclusive rights to the screen on the Kunpeng mobile phone. Aside from that screen, Lei Jun probably wouldn't care for the hongxing 2nd generation's screen. Xiaomi was currently in a honeymoon phase with Sharp, so there was no need to abandon Sharp to talk screens with him. Red Star wasn't a panel supplier; even if they were to talk, it should be with China Star.

Thinking of this, Chen Chen was certain that Lei Jun was likely there to discuss the type-c interface authorization. The Kunpeng mobile phone launch had made many people aware of this interface's convenience and speed, and Lei Jun naturally wouldn't miss out.

If Xiaomi wanted to develop faster quick-charging, they couldn't bypass this interface.

His purpose for coming to Red Star was obvious: he was definitely there to talk about the type-c interface authorization.

The words "Lei Jun's visit" carried a different weight; just look at Geely, look at used colloquially.

Having figured this out, Chen Chen was no longer worried, though he was actually quite afraid.

He went to used colloquially, and used colloquially's core of phone manufacturing and marketing vanished. He went to Geely, and then the Engineers from the Geely Research Institute vanished.

Now he was coming to Red Star; how could one not be afraid?

Everyone at Red Star took Lei Jun's visit very seriously; Chen Chen and Lu Weiqi even went down personally to greet him.

After some pleasantries, the two finally got down to business in Chen Chen's office.

"President Chen, I've come today because I want to..."

"President Lei, what do you think of our Red Star?"

Lei Jun was interrupted by Chen Chen before he could finish, asked a question that left him puzzled.

"President Chen, uh... well, it's very good. After all, your Red Star is a company that has been working in the mobile phone industry for many years."

"President Lei, as for your purpose today, I've guessed a bit of it. It's nothing more than the type-c interface authorization. I agree; your Xiaomi can use it for free."

"President Chen, no, this..."

Chen Chen's straightforwardness caught Lei Jun off guard. He thought it would take a lot of persuasion, and he had even prepared to pay a fee. He hadn't expected Chen Chen to agree before he even spoke.

"President Lei, you know that our Red Star's charging technology is currently world-leading. I'll authorize you to use the type-c interface for free, but in the future, your charging solutions must support our Red Star charging protocol."

"President Chen, I will pay an annual authorization fee for your type-c interface. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."

After Lei Jun finished, he stood up to leave. Chen Chen sat on the sofa and said softly:

"President Lei, your Xiaomi was selected for the 863 program, wasn't it?"

Hearing Chen Chen's words, Lei Jun was suddenly startled and stopped in his tracks.

The 863 program notification had only come from the Imperial Capital government a few days ago. How did Chen Chen know?

Could it be that their Red Star was also selected for the 863 program?

"President Chen must be joking. Our Xiaomi is just a small company founded two and a half years ago; how could we be selected for the 863 program? On the other hand, your Red Star is working on domestic chips and domestic screens; if the Imperial Capital municipal government were to choose, they would surely choose Red Star."

"Alright, I'll see President Lei out."

"As for the patent authorization fees for the type-c interface, they won't be necessary. I plan to have Red Star lead the formation of a Type-C alliance to jointly promote the popularization of this interface. The patents will soon be openly authorized internally."

After seeing Lei Jun off, before Chen Chen could rest, Yu Chengbei called. No need to guess; it was surely about the type-c interface authorization. After hearing about the plan to form an alliance, Yu Chengbei said no more.

"Judging by Lei Jun's reaction, Xiaomi must have entered the 863 program as well. I originally thought the Redmi series was just a strategy for Lei Jun to capture users, but now it seems there really is a force behind it pushing Redmi."

"It's time to hire an assistant. Otherwise, having to deal with everything myself is indeed exhausting. It was much easier when I was with Lei Zi; I only had to speak my ideas."

Chen Chen stretched and muttered to himself, imagining what kind of assistant he should hire.

"Black stockings?"

"White stockings?"

"Or... regardless of what kind of assistant he hired, the talent under him still couldn't compare to the founders of Xiaomi. Each of them had the ability to handle things on their own and was extremely professional."

It could be said that these co-founders were instrumental to Xiaomi's success.

"How about... poaching one?"

Forget about Wang Chuan; he's an old friend of Lei Jun, and Xiaomi TV came from his hands.

Huang Jiangji is also out of the question; he's Lei Jun's college classmate and roommate, so I definitely can't intercept him.

Suddenly, a name popped into Chen Chen's mind. Zhang Feng should have just resigned by now.

If he could intercept him, then he could put him in charge of Red Star power banks and some other projects.

As for the TV project, Red Star would definitely do it; it's a crucial link in connecting home screens. TCL also makes TVs and is even a leader in the domestic TV industry, but sourcing TV panels from China Star shouldn't be a problem.

Currently, Red Star has reached a deep cooperation with China Star. Not only did they trade a screen technology process for an investment opportunity, but they also established a new screen laboratory with China Star to jointly develop small panel screens.