Beijing (AFP) – Chinese tech giant Huawei on Friday said its profits will more than double in 2023 as it ramps up efforts to make up for a year in which it apparently flouted U.S. sanctions with the launch of high-end smartphones.
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The Shenzhen-based company is at the center of a bitter conflict between China and the US, with the US government warning that its equipment could be used for espionage by the Chinese government, but Huawei denies this claim.
Sanctions since 2019 have cut off the company’s access to American-made parts and technology, forcing it to diversify its growth strategy.
Huawei last year announced profits of 87 billion yuan ($12 billion), more than double the 35.6 billion yuan in 2022, but less than the record profit of 113.7 billion yuan in 2021.
Sales also increased by 9.6%.
“We’ve been through a lot over the past few years,” rotating chairman Ken Hu said Friday.
“But by taking on one challenge after another, we were able to grow.”
The profit increase follows a year in which the company raised eyebrows in Washington with the release of its Mate 60 Pro smartphone.
The product, which includes advanced domestic chips, has sparked debate over whether U.S. attempts to curb China’s access to semiconductor technology have been effective.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told Bloomberg in December that the development was “very concerning.”
And the Mate 60 Pro demonstrates its ability to cut into major competitor Apple’s profits in China, analysts cited by Bloomberg said.
Huawei remains the world’s leading equipment manufacturer for 5G, the fifth generation of mobile internet, and is involved in infrastructure projects in many countries.
The United States had been trying to persuade allies to ban Huawei from their 5G networks, arguing that the Chinese government could use the group’s products to monitor communications and data traffic.
Last June, the European Commission ruled that Chinese telecommunications equipment suppliers, including Huawei, posed a security risk to the EU.
And last month, Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei’s French office was raided for alleged “inappropriate conduct”, but other details were not immediately available.
In response to U.S. restraint, Beijing has repeatedly accused Washington of what it characterized as “abuse of the concept of national security to hobble Chinese companies” and “discriminatory and unjust acts.” .
© 2024 AFP
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