China’s Huawei says ‘survival first priority’ after 2019 sales fall short

Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei said Tuesday that “survival” was its top priority after announcing that the sales for 2019 were expected to fall short of projections as a result of US sanctions.

The global leader in telecom networking equipment has been effectively banned by the United States from working with American firms on the grounds that it poses a national security threat — an accusation the Chinese company has consistently denied.

Chairman Eric Xu said Huawei’s sales revenue for 2019 was likely to reach 850 billion yuan ($121 billion) — up roughly 18 per cent from the previous year.

Though he said “business remains solid”, the figure was lower than a previous forecast of $125 billion.