(Yicai Global) July 5 -- Chinese electronics company Xiaomi Inc. and Finnish multinational communications and information technology company Nokia Corporation have signed a business cooperation agreement and a multiple-year patent license, which includes a cross-licensing agreement covering necessary mobile network standards patents. As part of the deal, Xiaomi will also acquire some of Nokia's patented assets.

Nokia will provide Xiaomi with high-performance low-power network infrastructure equipment required by internet service providers and data centers.

The pair will team up to develop inter-data-center optical transmission technology and data center network solutions, as well as exploring opportunities of collaborating on Internet of Things, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AU) and artificial intelligence (AI) projects.

After obtaining the licenses and acquiring the patented assets from Nokia, the Beijing-based unicorn will seek to break down other barriers in foreign markets, laying the groundwork for its globalization strategy, Xiaomi said.