Is it really necessary for your vacuum to work, that it 1) connects to a server 2) on a different continent? Why would anyone willingly put something like this in their house?
It is the v1 of their vacuum which was not sold officially in Europe/America. The newer versions can work with servers located in Europe.
If you don't want to use the Xiaomi app there is an API to control the vacuum on the LAN.
See also "34C3 - Unleash your smart-home devices: Vacuum Cleaning Robot Hacking" [1]
Privacy and security concerns aside, I find that pretty magical that you can control a device from the other side of the planet, with only a few hundred milliseconds of latency :-)
