Huawei’s Revenues Nosedive 29% in 2021 Amid US Sanctions

In 2019, Huawei was placed on an export blacklist by then-US President Donald Trump. The Chinese tech giant was denied access to essential US-origin technology, which limited the firm’s ability to design its own chips and procure components from outside suppliers.

Huawei has announced that its annual revenue fell by almost a third compared to last year, in what comes amid crippling US sanctions against the Chinese telecom giant.

In an annual New Year message on Friday, Huawei’s rotating chairman Guo Ping said that the company’s revenue for this year plummeted by 29% year-on-year to 634 billion yuan ($99.5 billion).

“In 2021, despite all the trials and tribulations, we worked hard to create tangible value for our customers and local communities. We enhanced the quality and efficiency of our operations, and expect to round off the year with a total revenue of 634 billion yuan”, Guo underlined.

He added that the tech carrier segment had “remained stable” and that “overall performance was in line with our forecasts”.

The chairman asserted that Huawei was on a “bumpy, but rewarding” road, suggesting that 2022 will come with “its fair share of challenges”.

US Tightening Screws on Huawei

The statement comes amid Washington's ongoing crackdown on Huawei, which kicked off in May 2019, when the US Department of Commerce banned Internet providers from using the company's products and American tech firms from selling technologies to the Chinese titan without obtaining a special license first.

The White House argues that the company is collaborating with the Chinese government to allow it to spy on those who use the tech company's equipment, allegations that have been rejected by both Beijing and Huawei.

Last year, the US barred manufacturers from using American technology to produce chips for Huawei, in a move that came amid the Trump administration's efforts to pressure foreign countries not to purchase Huawei's 5G equipment.