Cisco exec dodges questions on ceding equipment controls to Beijing

Cisco Executive Chairman John Chambers declined to say whether the world’s top router and switching equipment producer would cede control of its equipment deployed in China to Beijing, Reuters reported. “We give our source code to no one,” Chambers told reporters at a news conference in Dubai when asked if Cisco would give Beijing a written promise that it would comply with government demands, skirting a direct answer to the question. Cisco’s commitment comes despite unease among foreign business groups over a China national security law adopted in July demanding all key network infrastructure and information systems be “secure and controllable”.