Cisco patient over recovery in China
Cisco Systems chief executive John Chambers said the network equipment company is preparing for a long battle to improve its business in China, one that will not be won "in a quarter or two".
Cisco Systems chief executive John Chambers said the network equipment company is preparing for a long battle to improve its business in China, one that will not be won "in a quarter or two".
The company's revenue in China fell 18 per cent in the quarter to October, a major contributor to a 21 per cent decline in its top five emerging markets.
Cisco said last month that a backlash against United States government spying in China contributed to its declining revenue, after former spy agency contractor Edward Snowden exposed widespread surveillance, in particular through internet data, much of which is transmitted through Cisco equipment.
The company said the spying scandal was not a significant issue for Cisco outside China.
Chambers said on Thursday that Cisco was "in China for the long run", but he was reluctant to offer much detail on how the firm planned to improve its business in the country.
"You have to be very patient and you have to work the issues through and you have to keep the conversations that you have at all levels confidential because otherwise you won't have any more," he said.
Chambers repeated a previous comment he had made in China that he would love to be Chinese if he were not American. He was also quick to distance himself from any collaboration with the US government to win back business in China.
"We're not asking help from any government leaders," he said. Instead, Cisco's head of sales Chuck Robbins will travel to China every quarter and Chambers and Rob Lloyd, president of development and sales, will take turns visiting the country to help improve relationships. Chambers also said Owen Chang, chief executive of Greater China, had the patience needed to help improve the company's business there.
Cisco's efforts in China "will be a series of quiet moves", rather than something that would be quickly noticeable, he said.
