On the morning of September 9, the trending topic "Wang Teng Claims He Didn't Steal Company Secrets for Sale" exploded on social media.

On September 9, @Wang Teng Thomas posted to refute rumors, stating he did not steal company secrets for sale and did not take bribes. The full statement reads:

"Regarding my departure, I've seen many rumors online, all false information, absolutely ridiculous. To clarify: I did not steal company secrets for sale, did not take bribes. There was negligent behavior, which I am deeply reflecting on, but I did not engage in illegal activities! Rumors stop with the wise - please focus more on the upcoming new products to be launched."

On the evening of September 8, XIAOMI-W announced the disciplinary action results against Chinese region employee Wang Teng for violations and misconduct. The investigation found that Wang Teng, an employee in the Chinese region marketing department, leaked company confidential information and had serious violations including conflicts of interest. According to the "Xiaomi Group Employee Violation and Misconduct Handling Measures" and "Xiaomi Group Integrity Guidelines," the company decided to dismiss Wang Teng.

Wang Teng responded to his Xiaomi dismissal on Weibo: "I'm very ashamed to apologize to everyone. I made some mistakes in the past and accept the consequences. Thank you to CEO Lei and all company leaders for their cultivation and trust over the years. I'm very reluctant to leave. I will continue to support Xiaomi and REDMI as always in the future. Thank you to many friends for their support. I'll rest for a while before starting over!"

According to public information, 29-year-old Wang Teng joined Xiaomi in 2016. In March 2020, Wang Teng joined the REDMI product team as REDMI Product Director. In November 2021, Wang Teng was transferred to Xiaomi's Henan branch. In August 2023, Wang Teng ended his rotation and returned to Xiaomi's Beijing headquarters; in September, he became REDMI Brand Spokesperson and REDMI Marketing Director. On February 3, 2024, Wang Teng was appointed as Xiaomi China Marketing Director and REDMI Brand General Manager.

According to Weibo verification, Wang Teng was "Xiaomi China Marketing Director, REDMI Brand General Manager." As of publication, Wang Teng's Weibo verification has been removed.

Currently, Wang Teng has deleted the "Xiaomi China Marketing Director, REDMI Brand General Manager" description from his Weibo profile. His Douyin account, which frequently livestreamed alongside Xiaomi Group founder Lei Jun, has been set to private. His KUAISHOU-W account cannot be followed and shows "banned." As of publication, Kuaishou has not responded regarding specific reasons for the ban.

Wang Teng frequently joked about "leaking secrets" on his Weibo, and netizens dubbed him the "leak king."

Wang Teng was repeatedly mentioned for "leaking secrets" in Xiaomi promotional videos. In a livestream in August 2024, Lei Jun mentioned: "Except for our General Teng (Wang Teng) frequently leaking secrets and getting fined, my reputation is still good."

On August 25, 2023, Xiaomi PR head Wang Hua posted: "Welcome Wang Teng back to Beijing to work hard, otherwise next time it really will be Africa. Also, stop randomly leaking secrets, or fines will be merciless!"

Additionally, on June 19, Wang Hua posted about receiving a confidentiality agreement that needed separate signing, being listed as a protected subject by the confidentiality office. He then updated in comments: "Just checked, Wang Teng received one too! Relieved!"

Wang Hua replied to netizen comments on Weibo on September 5: "To prevent Wang Teng from leaking information, we made him take vacation."

Commentary: Lei Jun's Tearful "Execution" of Wang Teng Xiaomi's Favored General Loses "Jieting" Due to Leaks, Big Companies Tighten Discipline

Xiaomi China Marketing Director and REDMI Brand General Manager Wang Teng was dismissed by the company for "leaking company confidential information and having conflicts of interest and other serious violations," quickly dominating trending topics.

This middle management employee with 9 years at Xiaomi, considered Lei Jun's protégé, ended his Xiaomi career in such an undignified manner.

Strictly speaking, Wang Teng wasn't in Xiaomi Group's top management tier, but as a brand official connecting market and public, his importance in the marketing-focused Xiaomi system was undeniable. He was Xiaomi's star product manager and social media influencer, with 1.802 million Weibo followers and daily readership exceeding 100,000.

Wang Teng's capabilities were evident. As a top graduate from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, he joined Xiaomi in 2016 and the REDMI team in March 2020. The K40 series, praised for "bloodbath in mid-range and sub-flagship markets," came from Wang Teng's hands.

He had keen market awareness and forward-thinking brand concepts. On November 21, 2024, Xiaomi announced REDMI's new brand identity, adopting all capital letters in bright red. He explained: "From 'purely driven by passion, regardless of everything' to 'relying on our own strength, boldly red.' The new generation of young people is no longer afraid of red." This was refreshing and memorable.

Whether within Xiaomi or on external social media platforms, Wang Teng was attention-grabbing, and his relationship with Lei Jun was always close - clearly someone Lei Jun was cultivating.

In a widely circulated story, Lei Jun personally required Wang Teng and others to "work on Weibo," setting them a KPI of "gaining 100,000 followers in 3 months." Wang Teng recalled: "The boss told us to watch Weibo, engage with Mi fans, sincerely make friends, and understand everyone's real needs."

Once, in Wang Teng's video comments, a netizen wrote "Wang Teng, you have the ability to go solo." Hilariously, this netizen was Lei Jun. Wang Teng quickly responded: "Lei Jun, stop testing me, I'll work hard."

Wang Teng to Lei Jun was like a modern version of "Ma Su to Zhuge Liang." Zhuge Liang trusted Ma Su and gave him important responsibilities, but when he lost Jieting, Zhuge Liang had to enforce military law and tearfully execute Ma Su. Now, this plot has happened to Wang Teng.

Their relationship can be glimpsed in Wang Teng's response: "Thank you to CEO Lei and all company leaders for their cultivation and trust over the years. Very reluctant to leave." The words reveal guilt and reluctance.

But know that Wang Teng lost "Jieting." Xiaomi's official reason was "leaking company confidential information and having conflicts of interest and other serious violations." The dual red lines of confidentiality and conflicts of interest are high-voltage lines Xiaomi absolutely cannot touch.

Imaginably, under intense market competition, Xiaomi internally takes confidentiality work extremely seriously. On June 19, Xiaomi PR head Wang Hua posted about receiving a confidentiality agreement requiring separate signing, being listed as a protected subject by the confidentiality office. He then commented: "Just checked, Wang Teng received one too! Relieved!" Now this seems prophetically ironic.

Leaking might be the trigger, but "conflicts of interest" was the truly fatal blow. Insiders revealed: Wang Teng had previously been internally disciplined for leaking; this dismissal severity likely relates more to the "conflicts of interest" mentioned in the announcement.

Lei Jun, outwardly kind and seemingly "harmless," is obviously decisive and swift in Xiaomi's internal management, showing no mercy toward employee violations - and cannot afford to be lenient. This is institutional rigidity of large enterprises and managerial rigidity of entrepreneurs.

Xiaomi clearly stated in its announcement: maintaining "zero tolerance, full coverage, no restricted areas" attitude toward violations. Xiaomi Group's 2024 annual report disclosed establishing a three-level business ethics governance framework: "Board of Directors - Professional Ethics Committee - Security Supervision Department." The board bears ultimate business ethics governance responsibility, with the Professional Ethics Committee handling violation investigations and accountability.

According to the annual report, Xiaomi Group investigated and concluded 36 corruption cases in 2024, with 8 transferred to judicial authorities. In June 2024, Xiaomi internally announced and dismissed two international business regional general managers: Western Europe Regional General Manager Owen and Latin America Regional General Manager Chen Bingxu. Owen was accused of "fabricating outsourcing business with huge amounts involved," while Chen Bingxu "demanded huge bribes from partners, accepted valuable gifts, and luxury entertainment."

Notably, Xiaomi Group's annual report stated no negative conflicts of interest incidents occurred in 2024. This announcement mentions Wang Teng's "conflicts of interest" as serious violations.

Not just Xiaomi - all major internet giants now view internal anti-corruption and conflict of interest management as core corporate governance issues, entering the "deep waters" of strict governance with increasingly decisive actions. Companies like Tencent, Alibaba, Meituan, JD.com, and ByteDance universally establish internal systems and regularly publish related results. For example, ByteDance dismissed 353 violating employees in 2024 and 100 employees who crossed company red lines in Q2 2025.

As Jack Ma said: "Alibaba's integrity department can investigate everyone, including me." Liu Qiangdong also stated firmly: "If you dare embezzle 10,000 yuan from the company, I'd rather spend 1 million or 10 million yuan investigating you."

Throughout major tech companies' development, "big company disease" and internal violations often go hand in hand. Fundamentally, continuous strict governance concerns healthy development of big companies, is inevitable as industries move from wild growth to intensive cultivation, and maintains fair market competition order.

In large-scale operations, military discipline must be strict, requiring disciplinary "teeth." For large enterprises like Xiaomi, localized violations are like ant holes breaching dikes, capable of undermining combat effectiveness. Therefore, great effort must be made to build systems, establish rules, and emphasize execution, making systems "grow teeth" and discipline "carry electricity." Without exaggeration, whether institutional and disciplinary "teeth" are hard determines how far enterprises can go.

Lei Jun's tearful "execution" of Wang Teng demonstrates the cold law of modern corporate governance where systems supersede personal relationships. Even if it's a protégé you cultivated personally, even if he rendered distinguished service for the company, once red lines are crossed, consequences must be paid.

Xiaomi has grown into a tech giant spanning multiple fields with large organization and complex business. Internal violations would directly erode innovation vitality, damage organizational fairness, and harm brand reputation. This stern handling helps strengthen Xiaomi's brand image of strict discipline.

The mobile phone industry remains bustling, launch events will proceed as scheduled, but Xiaomi no longer has Wang Teng. His story became a footnote to Xiaomi's disciplinary enforcement and iron-fisted corporate governance, also providing a mirror for big company managers and employees.