U.S. Sanctions Made Huawei & China Stronger — Here’s How

Back in 2019, the U.S. government basically tried to kill Huawei.

Not literally, but in the business world — they hit the Chinese tech giant with some of the toughest sanctions in modern history

No access to American software.

No access to Google.

No access to advanced chips.

And no country that wanted to stay on Washington’s good side was supposed to work with them.

Most people thought Huawei was done.

Their smartphone sales crashed.

Their profits dropped.

And many believed this was the end of China’s biggest tech success story.

But just a few years later…

Huawei is back.

Today, they’re the world’s largest 5G provider, they’re making electric cars, building self-driving software, producing their own chips, and last year, their revenue jumped 22%.

So… how did that happen?

How did Huawei pull off one of the biggest comebacks in tech history?

………

— The Fall:

To understand this comeback, we need to go back to pre-pandemic…and Trump was sitting in the White House during the first term and had declared China and its tech company as the main threat.

Huawei wasn’t just another Chinese company.

They were a global leader — building 5G networks across the world, selling more smartphones than Apple, and representing China’s rise in high tech.

But in Washington, Huawei was seen very differently.

U.S. officials accused the company of being a national security risk — of potentially allowing Chinese surveillance through their network equipment. Huawei denied it, but the political pressure was unstoppable.

Then came the sanctions.

Huawei was banned from buying U.S. technology.

That included critical chips, software like Android and Google services, and even design tools used to make processors.

In other words — Huawei lost access to the beating heart of modern tech.

Their smartphone business collapsed almost overnight.

Global market share went from around 17% in 2019 to just 2% a few years later.

For most companies, that would’ve been the end.

But for Huawei, it became something else — a turning point.

— The Survival Years:

Inside Huawei’s massive Shenzhen headquarters, something interesting happened.

Instead of downsizing or retreating, the company decided to go all in on research and self-reliance.

They called it the “survival mode.”

Huawei poured money into Research & Development — about 20% of its total revenue every year — one of the highest rates in the world.

They started designing their own operating system, HarmonyOS, to replace Android.

They worked with local partners to build new chipmaking capabilities inside China.

And they began expanding into other industries — ones less affected by U.S. sanctions.

Things like:

Telecom infrastructure (where they were still dominant),

Cloud computing,

AI and data centers,

And especially, automotive technology — electric cars, self-driving software, and smart sensors.

Basically, Huawei started turning itself from a smartphone company into a technology empire.

For a few years, progress was slow and painful.

Revenue dropped.

Their phones were no longer in Western markets.

But under the surface — something was changing.

— The Comeback

Then, in 2023 and 2024, the world began to notice something strange.

Huawei was… coming back.

Their new Mate 60 smartphone appeared out of nowhere — and the tech community was shocked.

Because inside that phone was a chip that wasn’t supposed to exist in China — a 7-nanometer processor made domestically, without U.S. technology.

It wasn’t as advanced as Apple’s or Qualcomm’s chips, but it was a breakthrough — proof that China, and Huawei, were finding ways around sanctions.

At the same time, Huawei’s 5G business was booming again.

They became the largest 5G provider in the world, dominating markets across Asia, Africa, and Latin America — areas less aligned with U.S. restrictions.

And then came the EV push.

Huawei started collaborating with Chinese carmakers to build electric and hybrid vehicles using Huawei’s self-driving software, sensors, and chips.

Their “Smart Car Solutions” business exploded, growing several-fold in just a year.

By 2024, Huawei’s total revenue had jumped 22% to around $120 billion, almost back to its pre-sanction peak.

That’s a staggering recovery — one few thought possible.

— How They Did It:

So how did Huawei pull it off?

First – Going local.

When foreign suppliers cut them off, Huawei built its own.

They worked closely with Chinese chipmaker SMIC, local component suppliers, and national R&D labs.

Second – Building everything in-house.

Huawei doubled down on vertical integration — chips, software, networks, operating systems, even car electronics.

They wanted to control every layer of their technology.

Then – Betting big on China.

While Western markets were closing, Huawei focused on home.

China’s domestic market — with over a billion consumers — became their lifeline.

And as nationalist sentiment grew, “Made in China” tech became a badge of pride.

– Diversifying.

Instead of just chasing phones, Huawei went after cloud computing, energy infrastructure, data centers, and cars.

They weren’t just surviving — they were reinventing themselves.

And finally – Out-investing everyone.

In 2024, Huawei spent $25 billion on research and development — that’s more than most Western tech companies spend annually.

It’s how they stayed ahead, even without access to Western technology

— Why It Matters:

Huawei’s comeback is about more than one company.

It’s about what happens when a superpower tries to isolate another — and fails.

By cutting Huawei off, the U.S. hoped to limit China’s technological rise.

But instead, it may have accelerated it. Same thing happening now with NVIDIA’s advanced chips.

China is now building its own chip industry faster than ever.

Its companies are pushing into AI, EVs, and telecommunications — all driven by the same logic: never depend on American tech again.

Huawei has become a symbol of that movement — a kind of tech nationalism story that’s reshaping global supply chains.

Today, many developing countries are choosing Huawei 5G equipment again.

Chinese EVs using Huawei software are hitting the roads.

And the world’s tech map is becoming more divided — between U.S.-aligned systems and Chinese-built ones.

- ENDING

So yeah, Huawei’s story isn’t over.

They’re still blocked in many Western markets.

They still can’t access the most advanced chips in the world.

But they’ve proven something powerful:

That cutting a company off doesn’t always destroy it — sometimes, it forces it to evolve.

And in Huawei’s case, that evolution is shaking the global tech industry all over again.

This isn’t just a comeback.

It’s a warning — that the future of technology might not be built in Silicon Valley…

…but in Shenzhen.