China’s Huawei reports $98 billion in revenue, breaks US sanctions ‘siege’

• Huawei missed this year’s sales forecasts
• The Shenzhen-based technology giant said it expects to bring in revenue of more than $98.5 billion in 2023.
• Huawei’s 5G smartphone launch in August raises concerns in Washington

Chinese technology giant Huawei said it expects sales to exceed $98.5 billion (700 billion yuan) this year, according to a New Year’s message released by the company.

The numbers represent a 9% increase in sales and show that US sanctions and competition from Apple in China are not holding Huawei back for long.

Sales are still less than 20% of Huawei’s 2020 peak of $136.7 billion (891 billion yuan), but rotating chairman Ken Hu was optimistic the company had turned a corner.

“After years of hard work, we managed to weather the storm and are now almost back on track,” Hu wrote. “By sharing our beliefs, we were able to break through the siege and move forward together.”

Huawei is at the center of worsening tensions between China and the United States, with Washington accusing the company of having close ties to the Chinese military and government.

The Trump administration introduced sanctions in 2019 that bar telecommunications companies from accessing advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment from the West unless they receive formal approval.

At the time, about a third of Huawei’s suppliers were American, and the company relied on the United States for high-performance computer chips.

However, this year, Huawei Mate 60 Pro smartphone.

Launched the same week as the U.S. Secretary of Commerce’s visit to China and a few weeks before the iPhone 15, the Mate 60 sold nearly 1.5 million units in its first month, more than the company’s previous model achieved. equivalent to twice that of

The smartphone was highly praised in China as a viable domestic alternative to the iPhone.

Bloomberg reported that Apple’s sales have fallen by as much as 6%, with the Chinese government’s efforts to wean the country away from Western technology also helping the company.

Despite a successful year, the company acknowledged that “serious challenges” lie ahead.

“Many geopolitical and economic uncertainties, technological restrictions and trade barriers continue to impact the world,” Hu said in his message.

Looking ahead, Huawei said it plans to increase investment in emerging technologies such as AI and strengthen its business operations.