Huawei is struggling to lift its head after being penalized by Washington and its allies. Blacklisted by the executive of the United States in 2019, the company was then gradually banned from the deployment of 5G around the world.
Huawei continues to pay the price almost three years after the first sanctions decided on the other side of the Atlantic. The year 2021 has been particularly difficult for the Chinese telecoms giant, as evidenced by its turnover, which has fallen by a third over the past 12 months. The Shenzhen-based firm recorded revenue of 634 billion yuan ($ 99.48 billion) during the fiscal year, according to figures released by its chairman Guo Ping in a New Year’s message. This represents a decrease of 28.9% compared to 891.4 billion yuan of turnover in 2020.
Huawei is therefore struggling to raise its head after being penalized by Washington and its allies. Because if the Chinese group became in 2020 the world’s leading manufacturer of smartphones, it was not long in suffering the consequences of the measures taken by the White House and many countries around the world. As early as 2019, the Chinese juggernaut found itself in the sights of Donald Trump who has repeatedly accused him of spying on behalf of Beijing, against a backdrop of very strong tensions between the two superpowers. Blacklisted by the US executive, the company was then gradually banned from the deployment of 5G around the world, particularly in Europe and Australia. To this already very dark picture has been added the Covid-19 pandemic which has created difficulties in the supply of semiconductors.
More and more isolated, Huawei had to resolve at the end of 2020 to part with its Honor brand, which specializes in entry-level smartphones. He was also forced to give up the American Android system which equips the vast majority of smartphones in the world. The Chinese giant is nevertheless trying to return to the fore with its own operating system, HarmonyOS. After a launch in China, the latter could land in Europe in 2022. No clarification in sight in the United States, on the other hand, where the Biden administration has maintained the majority of the sanctions imposed by Donald Trump. In this context, the president of Huawei does not expect a more peaceful new year. “2022 will have its share of challenges”, he warned.