US-China trade war: Huawei revenue to be billions below forecast

Huawei’s founder likened his company to a badly damaged plane and said revenues will be USD 30 billion less than forecast over the next two years.

The Chinese telecom giant will reduce capacity but US moves to restrict its business “will not stop us,” Ren Zhengfei, who is also the CEO, said on a panel at company headquarters.

He said the company expected revenues of about USD 100 billion annually for the next two years, compared to USD 105 billion in 2018. In February, he said the company was targeting USD 125 billion in 2019.

In May, the US has put Huawei on a blacklist, meaning that American companies that want to sell parts to Huawei will need approval from the US Commerce Department.

US officials have accused Chinese technology companies such as Huawei of stealing trade secrets and threatening cybersecurity possibly at the behest of the ruling Communist Party.

The action comes as Huawei and competitors prepare to launch next generation 5G mobile networks.

Ren said there are no backdoors in its equipment that anyone could access, and that Huawei is willing to enter into a no backdoor agreement with any nation that wants one.

He said it never occurred to Huawei that the American government would be so determined to take such a wide range of what he called extreme measures against the company.
“I think both sides will suffer,” he said. “No one will win.”