Huawei warns that it will see “serious challenges” in 2022

Huawei warns that it will see “serious challenges” in 2022

The tech giant is worried about growing deglobalisation and the “politicisation of technology”

The US sanctions have hit Huawei hard and the company has warned that it will see “serious challenges” in 2022 amid “politicisation of technology”, and further “deglobalisation”. The Chinese conglomerate is expecting 634 billion yuan (87.4 billion euros) in revenue in 2021. This represents a 28.88 decrease from the 891.4 billion yuan the company turned over in 2020.

In a New Year letter to employees, Huawei’s rotating chairman Guo Ping, said that its carrier business had stayed “stable” and its enterprise unit saw growth. “An unpredictable business environment, the politicisation of technology, and a growing deglobalisation movement all present serious challenges,” Ping said. “Against this backdrop, we need to stick to our strategy and respond rationally to external forces that are beyond our control,” he added.

Ping stated Huawei would look to streamline its business decision-making processes in 2022 by giving more autonomy to local offices.

U.S. sanctions are biting hard

Ping said that Huawei would push ahead with its focus on infrastructure and smart devices. They would also look to respond more quickly to customer needs with shorter “management chains”. This meant creating “integrated teams” and “domain-specific subsidiaries,” reports ZDNet.

US President Joe Biden in November signed the law to ban Chinese tech companies like Huawei and ZTE from getting approval for network equipment licences in the country. Last year, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) designated Huawei and ZTE as national security threats to communications networks — making it harder for US firms to buy equipment from them.

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr commented: “Once we have determined that Huawei or other gear poses an unacceptable national security risk, it makes no sense to allow that exact same equipment to be purchased and inserted into our communications networks as long as federal dollars are not involved. The presence of these insecure devices in our networks is the threat, not the source of funding used to purchase them.”