Lei Jun responds to the billion-dollar bet with Dong Mingzhu: at that time, the joke should not have been made, under a lot of pressure, I ended up investing in air conditioning.

On June 21, at the "Ambassador's Meeting Room Special Session" of the 32nd Beijing International Book Fair, Xiaomi founder Lei Jun brought up the billion-dollar bet he made with Dong Mingzhu in 2013 during a cross-border dialogue with writer Liu Zhenyun. "In 2013, I participated in an event on CCTV and made a bet with Dong Mingzhu from Gree. It was just a joke at first, but then it became a problem. Dong Mingzhu took it seriously, and the consequences of her taking it seriously were quite serious. Dong Mingzhu said some very harsh things in many occasions, which I won't repeat here. Later, Dong Mingzhu even said she wanted to make a mobile phone. Under this circumstance, we were under a lot of pressure, so we ended up making air conditioners," Lei Jun said. "Looking back now, I realize that I shouldn't have joked with Dong Mingzhu back then."