In 2023, Huawei Technologies Co.’s preliminary total revenue showed growth of 9% year-on-year.
The mentioned company is ending the year positively, which has become a very dramatic period for the Chinese technology sector, fraught with various challenges and difficulties. Huawei also achieved such results in 2023 that it can be argued that this brand is a powerful competitor to Apple, capable of influencing the market position of the iPhone developer, and calls into question restrictions on the supply of advanced chips to China imposed by the United States.
Since the beginning of this year, the specified company’s sales in monetary terms have reached more than 700 billion yuan ($98.7 billion). This is the fastest growth rate of Huawei’s business in recent years. The good result for 2023 is due to the successful activities of the company related to the production of smartphones and steady sales of 5G equipment. In the fourth quarter of this year, Huawei’s revenue increased by 27% compared to the previous period of the same duration, amounting to 243.4 billion yuan.
The company found itself in the spotlight after it released a new Mate 60 Pro smartphone with a 7-nanometer Kirin processor made in China in the second half of this year. This product has become a kind of symbol that Washington’s efforts to contain Beijing’s technological potential are not as successful as the American authorities expected. In the United States, after the release of the smartphone with the mentioned processor, discussions intensified on whether the export rules to China are sufficient in terms of achieving the goal of reducing the capabilities of the Asian country in the sphere of advanced developments.
In September, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said there was no convincing evidence that Huawei and other Chinese technology companies have the potential to mass-produce chips for smartphones. However, already in October, she stated a different position on this issue. Gina Raimondo said at a hearing in the Senate Commerce Committee that Huawei’s achievements in the sphere of chip manufacturing are worrying. Such sentiments do not arise when there is confidence in the inability of the company to achieve a significant result.
Huawei is currently one of the largest players in the global smartphone market. In 2019, Washington limited the company’s interaction with foreign suppliers. Against the background of Huawei’s current success, the media described the brand as a symbol of China’s determination to resist bans from the United States. The company evaluates the future prospects very carefully, without falling into euphoria from the achievements of 2023. Huawei claims that next year there will be such risk factors as potential actions by Washington aimed at limiting Beijing’s technological potential and the unstable state of affairs in the sphere of the global economy.
Ken Hu, one of several company executives who take turns as chairman, said in a traditional address to employees at the end of the year that the brand had managed to weather the storm after many years of hard work. He noted that the changes in the business environment are not only the result of the tense situation in the area of geopolitical relations but also the consequence of fluctuations in global economic cycles.
Huawei enjoys strong support in China, which has increased since the company was blacklisted by Washington four years ago. Local telecom operators have signed deals with the firm in the sphere of cloud computing and 5G. Some government organizations have bought nonperforming businesses from Huawei.
The above-mentioned Mate 60 Pro has deprived Apple’s iPhone 15 of a significant share of the Chinese market. Data from the Semiconductor Industry Association indicates that Huawei is building a network of chip manufacturing plants and receiving about $30 billion in funding from the Chinese government and the city of Shenzhen, which is its home.
Next year, according to experts, the company may be challenged not only by the potential tightening of Washington’s measures to curb Beijing’s technological potential but also by a kind of market pressure that requires continued 2023 success. So far, it is impossible to reliably assert the brand’s ability to cope with this task.
The media claim that Huawei will find it difficult to withstand external challenges, since next year the already scarce chip production equipment will become less affordable. Gina Raimondo stated her intention to take the most decisive action in response to the company’s progress. In this case, restrictive measures are implied.
Huawei is committed to increasing investment in new technologies, including artificial intelligence. Ken Hu stated that the company needs to actively use the window of opportunity to channel limited financial resources into the most important strategic spheres. He also spoke about the intention to streamline the brand headquarters, simplify the management system, and facilitate the coordination of corporate policy.
