Leading global technology firm, Huawei Technologies, has announced a 21 percent growth in 2018, just as it outlines its operating strategy to top global tech supply chain in 2019.
In a New Year statement by the firm, it said its 2019 growth strategy will largely focused on guaranteeing its business resilience despite “unfair treatment” especially from the United States.
Huawei Technologies Rotating Chairman, Mr. Guo Ping, according to the statement, described the year 2018 as an eventful year for the firm while promising swift recovery from US-led “negative conjecture and market restrictions”.
Undeterred by thinly veiled market restrictions, Mr. Ping said Huawei in 2018 managed to sign 26 commercial contracts for 5G with leading global carriers, and have already shipped more than 10,000 5G base stations to markets around the world.
“More than 160 cities and 211 Fortune Global 500 companies have selected Huawei as their partner for digital transformation, affording the firm 2018 sales revenues of up to US$ 108.5 billion,” he said.
Huawei remains a player in the battle to determine who will lead the 5G tech race, despite being barred by the United States from supplying its government and contractors on allegations that “Chinese manufacturers are spying on the West,” a statement from the tech giant noted.
According to Huawei, no evidence has ever been provided to prove the accusation, adding that it would not be in its interest to carry out the alleged surveillance activities, as it would cause the company to lose its image and the current position in the international market.
The company believes that its growth in the past 10 years has worried its international competitors, being the leading networking equipment supplier in the world.
Despite the intense 5G race and the US-China trade dispute, Huawei’s business performance has remains strong, according to industry reports.
“We have never stopped pushing forward, and as a result our 2018 sales revenue is expected to reach 108.5 billion US dollars, up 21% year-on-year”, Mr. Ping said.
“Our business performance remains strong, and this is by far the most direct form of validation that we can receive from our customers,” he added.
He further noted that as the dynamic between world powers becomes more intense, there will be greater uncertainty in the macro business environment, but Huawei will keep feet on the ground and improve the business ecosystem for the industry, “making tangible contributions to local communities and working to secure opportunities for fair competition”.
It will be recalled that earlier last year, Huawei topped Apple in the number of smartphone units shipped, and ranks only behind Samsung.
The motivations behind these accusations, according to the statement, are partly commercial and partly geopolitical, given that the United States and China are locked in a trade dispute that has disrupted the flow of hundreds of billions of dollars of goods.
Also, it will be recalled that Project Syndicate, an international media organization, published a commentary on December 11, 2018 that Huawei is one of China’s most important technology companies, and therefore a prime target in Trump administration’s effort to slow or stop China’s advance into several high-technology sectors.
Similarly, Forbes published an opinion piece on December 10, 2018 with the title: The Feds Shamefully Persecute China’s Huawei For Being Too Successful.
However, a number of carriers globally including British Telecommunications (BT) have expressed support for the world’s biggest telecom gear maker.
While attending an event in London in November 2018, BT’s Chief Architect Neil McRae proclaimed “there is only one true 5G supplier right now and that is Huawei – the others need to catch up.”
Deutsche Telekom responded to an inquiry from Der Spiegel, a German weekly news magazine in November, explaining that they use equipment from various manufacturers, including Ericsson, Nokia, Cisco and Huawei, and stating that they cannot “afford to exclude high-performance suppliers”.
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