Chinese tech giant Huawei said on Friday its profits more than doubled in 2023, as it ramps up efforts to bounce back in a year that saw the company apparently defy US sanctions with the release of a high-end smartphone. The Shenzhen-based company has been at the centre of an intense standoff between China and the United States — Washington has warned that its equipment could be used for espionage by the Chinese government, an allegation Huawei denies. Sanctions since 2019 have cut the firm’s access to US-made components and technologies, forcing it to diversify its growth strategy. Huawei said it generated a profit of 87 billion yuan ($12 billion) last year, more than double 2022’s 35.6 billion yuan but short of its record 113.7 billion yuan profit in 2021. Revenues also surged by 9.6 percent to 704.2 billion yuan. “We’ve been through a lot over the past few years,” Rotating Chairman Ken Hu said Friday. “But through one challenge after another, we’ve managed to grow.” Highlighting Huawei’s efforts to diversify as it finds itself cut off by Western sanctions, the firm said revenues from its smart car business had more than doubled, bringing in 4.7 billion last year.