Huawei’s Remarkable Smartphone Resurgence: Overcoming Challenges and Tapping into Opportunities in the Chinese Market

Huawei made a remarkable comeback in the smartphone market in 2023, despite facing restrictions on accessing high-end technology from American suppliers since 2019. The Chinese telecommunications company showcased one of the largest displays at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February 2024 and reported that its net profit for 2023 more than doubled, attributing this success to better product offerings and a 9.6% year-on-year revenue growth to 704.2 billion yuan ($99.18 billion).

Huawei’s smartphone shipments in China surged by 47% in the fourth quarter of 2023, moving the company to fourth place in market share ahead of Xiaomi, thanks to increased sales driven by higher quality operations and sales of certain businesses. The release of the Mate 60 Pro in China in late August 2023 was a key factor behind this surge, as it offered download speeds associated with 5G, thanks to an advanced semiconductor chip.

Despite these challenges, Huawei’s intelligent automobile solutions business experienced a significant revenue growth of 128.1% in 2023, reaching 4.7 billion yuan. Additionally, the company’s consumer business also saw revenue growth of 17.3% year-on-year to 251.5 billion yuan. ICT remained the biggest revenue driver for Huawei in