Huawei’s Resilience Shines Through Amidst US Sanctions
As the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve, Huawei’s Chief Financial Officer, Meng Wanzhou, sent a powerful message to the company’s stakeholders, highlighting its remarkable resilience in the face of adversity. Despite experiencing “countless moments of darkness, uncertainty, and defeat” over the past six years, Huawei has continued to push boundaries, achieving “one miracle after another, making the impossible possible.”
A Year of Breakthroughs
Meng, daughter of Huawei’s founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei, expressed gratitude to the company’s customers, supply chain partners, and employees for their contributions to a groundbreaking year. One of the significant achievements was the development of hybrid engineering teams, which made breakthroughs in areas such as heat dissipation, power supply, high-speed transmission, and chip reliability. These advancements were made possible through the operation of a dozen laboratories, where Huawei collaborated with partners to design semiconductors, including high-bandwidth memory chips used for training AI models.
HarmonyOS: A Game-Changer
The past year was also crucial for fostering the adoption of HarmonyOS Next, which no longer supports Android-based apps. In just 12 months, Huawei achieved what other companies took 10 years to accomplish – developing a comprehensive operating system. This milestone is a testament to the company’s determination to innovate and adapt in the face of adversity.
Overcoming Sanctions
As rotating chairwoman, Meng’s message reflects her continued efforts to steer Huawei’s comeback in the 5G smartphone market, while overseeing advanced chip development efforts despite rigid US sanctions. Huawei board member Vincent Peng Bo acknowledged that the company’s consumer business has managed to survive, thanks in part to domestic consumers’ enthusiasm. However, he emphasized that there is still a long way to go for Huawei amid various tech restrictions.
Supply Chain Independence
Peng noted that sanctions have caused significant inconvenience, but Huawei’s research and development team, along with supply chain colleagues, have spent five years achieving independence of their supplies. He stressed the importance of keeping the supply chain open to overseas companies to stay competitive, citing the example of using memory chips from SK Hynix in the latest flagship smartphone, the Mate 70 Pro.
A New Era of Innovation
As Huawei looks to the future, it is clear that the company’s resilience and determination will continue to drive innovation and growth. Despite the challenges posed by US sanctions, Huawei remains committed to pushing the boundaries of technology, ensuring that its customers and partners benefit from its cutting-edge solutions.
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