Huawei vows to return to smartphone ‘throne’ despite US sanctions

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People wait to enter a Huawei flagship store on July 30, 2021 in Shanghai, China. Huawei launched the P50 series smartphones in July.

VCG | China Visual Group | Getty Images

GUANGZHOU, China A Huawei executive said the Chinese tech giant will return to the “throne” of the smartphone industry even as the company continues to suffer the consequences of US sanctions.

Under the administration of former US President Donald Trump, Huawei has been labeled a national security threat, blacklisted for export, and cut off from key technologies – the advanced semiconductors needed for its smartphones.

Huawei’s consumer division revenue plunged 47% year-on-year in the first half of 2021. The company was once No. 1 in the smartphone market, but has since fallen out of the top five.

“The biggest challenge for us right now is with cell phones. We know that [to produce] small size, low power phones require advanced technology. Huawei can do the design, but no one can help us produce. We’re stuck, ”Huawei chairman Guo Ping said in a question-and-answer session with staff, according to a transcript seen by CNBC.

One of Huawei’s biggest problems is that Chinese chipmakers lack the capacity to make the cutting-edge semiconductors that the Shenzhen-based company needs.

Guo said, however, that Huawei would not be leaving the smartphone business. Instead, it will work with partners to improve their technology, which in turn will benefit Huawei, as it may have access to silicon produced in China.

“Huawei will keep its existence in the mobile phone business,” Guo said. “I expect that as chip manufacturing capacity increases, [Huawei] will return to the smartphone throne. “

“I hope the day when China is able to manufacture chips will come sooner. Until that day the sector will exist and we will try to keep and develop our technologies, to make sure that we are able to manufacture competitive phones, ”Guo added. .

Last year, Huawei sold its budget smartphone brand called Honor, in an effort to keep the company alive.

Huawei has focused on areas such as software and cloud computing as the smartphone industry continues to face headwinds.

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