Ah that link is interesting. I was wrong about the price differential, wasn't trying to be disingenuous, I was going by the article (and ended up comparing apples to oranges by mistake) so I didn't know where you were coming from.

I don't think I've ever seen a Xiaomi phone in the wild and I've only ever seen a single OnePlus v1.

Again, I think it is in China's interests to protect their markets as they see fit, within reason.