Huawei posts profit rise of 34 percent

"In 2014, the global economy will continue to recover," Xu said. Factors including the increased coverage of ultra-broadband and mobile broadband, greater popularity of smart devices and the transformation of IT systems indicate the year of 2014 will be "a new beginning, not just for Huawei, but for the industry as a whole", he added.

Xu expects Huawei to grow into a $70 billion company by 2018, with sales doubling in the following four years.

According to public figures, Huawei has already overtaken Sweden-based Ericsson to become the world's biggest telecom equipment vendor. Ericsson reported 2013 annual revenue of $35.3 billion.

Another Chinese telecom equipment maker, ZTE Corp, said last week that its net profit increased by 149 percent year-on-year in 2013 to 1.36 billion yuan, after a steep loss the previous year.

Carrier network business remained the biggest revenue source for Huawei, accounting for about 70 percent of Huawei's total revenue. The formal commercial rollout of the fourth generation (4G) network in China was no doubt a big boost for Huawei's carrier business, said analysts.

Meanwhile, Huawei emerged as the world's third-largest smartphone manufacturer last year, following South Korea-based Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and US-based Apple Inc. Huawei's consumer business, mainly consisting of smartphone sales, received 57 billion yuan in revenue, a year-on-year rise of 18 percent.

"Innovation plays a critical role in Huawei's rise because it helps Huawei to gain competency, avoid price wars and respond swiftly to market demand," said Kevin Wang, China research director of iSuppli IHS, a US-based research company.

Huawei said it spent 30.7 billion yuan last year on research and development, about 13 percent of its revenue, up 3.4 percent from the 29.7 billion yuan it spent in 2012.