Xiaomi Corp unveiled its new flagship smartphone Mi 10 series on Thursday, marking the first smartphone release event in China since the novel coronavirus outbreak.

It is part of broader efforts by China's smartphone industry and the global electronics sector to join hands to maintain normal economic activity despite the temporary difficulties caused by the epidemic.

Wearing a mask, Xiaomi founder Lei Jun opened the event, which had no offline audience and was only livestreamed.

Lei said the company's revenue in 2019 has exceeded 200 billion yuan ($28.6 billion), and its research and development spending topped 7 billion yuan last year.

"This year, we will pour 10 billion yuan into R&D as we officially march into the premium segment," Lei said.

Dubbed by the founder as its first-ever attempt to dash into the high-end smartphone segment, Mi 10, priced from 3,999 yuan, will be equipped with the US chip giant Qualcomm's Snapdragon 865 platform and a highly sophisticated and cutting-edge camera.