Yes, if you are in a country friendly with the US it is better to have Xiaomi harvest the data than Apple.

This question is particularly pertinent in a country like Australia. Both the US and China have strong interest in controlling our loyalty and GDP, and I for one dont want to be a subject of either regime.

if your Country has good relationships with both of them it doesn't really matter.

EDIT: you have to understand that the cold war is over and you can't replace USSR with modern China, my country has good relationships with both the US and China so it doesn't really matters who's spying on you, they are "good friends" anyway...