Huawei to optimize portfolio to boost resilience

A staff member tests the speed with a Huawei 5G mobile phone at Huawei 5G Innovation and Experience Center in London, Britain, on Jan. 28, 2020. (Xinhua/Han Yan)

SHENZHEN, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese tech giant Huawei will optimize its portfolio to boost business resilience among five strategic initiatives in a bid to navigate a challenging environment, Huawei's rotating chairman Eric Xu said Monday.

Huawei will particularly strengthen its software engineering capabilities and reduce the demand of and dependence on chips. So said Xu at Huawei's 18th Global Analyst Summit in Shenzhen, held on Monday.

Among the other four strategic initiatives, Huawei will maximize 5G value and define 5.5G with industry peers to drive the evolution of mobile communications. It will provide a seamless, user-centric, and intelligent experience across all user scenarios.

The Shenzhen-headquartered company will also innovate to reduce energy consumption for a low-carbon world and address supply continuity challenges, Xu said.

Xu also urged the rebuilding of trust in the global semiconductor industry. He warned that the current global chips shortage, a result of chip-stockpiling by many companies over factors including U.S. sanctions on Huawei, may trigger a bigger global crisis in the future.

"Rebuilding trust and restoring collaboration across the global semiconductor supply chain is crucial to bringing the industry back on track," said Xu.

Huawei posted slower earnings growth over the U.S. export restrictions. In 2020, its global sales revenue rose by 3.8 percent, year on year, to 891.4 billion yuan (about 136 billion U.S. dollars), while net profit gained 3.2 percent, year on year, to 64.6 billion yuan. So said the company's 2020 financial report.

More than 400 guests joined the event on-site. They included industry and financial analysts, key opinion leaders, and media representatives, along with analysts and media representatives from around the world who attended online.