BEIJING – Huawei said Friday it expected an increase of almost nine percent in its revenue in 2023, despite US sanctions against the Chinese tech giant.

“After years of hard work, we managed to weather the storm,” rotating chairman Ken Hu said in remarks released Friday, while adding the firm faces “serious challenges ahead of us”.

In 2023, the group expects revenues of more than 700 billion yuan ($99.4 billion), Hu said in a New Year’s message — an increase of nearly nine percent from last year.

The firm released its Mate 60 Pro handset this year — a device, powered by an advanced domestically produced chip, that sparked debate about whether attempts to curb China’s technological advancements have been effective.

But revenue remains much lower than the 891.4 billion yuan in 2020, the year before the company announced a sharp decline in turnover due to US sanctions.

Huawei has for several years been at the centre of an intense tech standoff between China and the United States, with Washington warning its equipment could be used for state espionage, an allegation the company denies.

Sanctions since 2019 have cut the firm off from access to US-made components and technologies, forcing it to diversify its growth sources. – AFP / pic TMR FILE