Chambers: Huawei does not always play by the rules

Cisco boss tells WSJ that Chinese player is his "toughest competitor" but hints at IP and security issues

Cisco chief executive John Chambers has singled out Huawei as his firm's "toughest competitor" but suggested that the Chinese vendor "does not always play by the rules".

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the networking chief was asked which company worried him most.

He responded: "It is going to be very simple. I knew 25 years ago my toughest competitor, regardless of which company I was going to be in, would be Chinese, so it is clearly Huawei. They do not always play by the rules, but you have to adjust to the markets you are in."

When pushed to give examples of how Huawei flouts the rules, the Cisco man made some slightly opaque comments about ensuring trust from customers and governments.

"You do not want to have people doubting you about [whether you will] copy their intellectual property. You don't want them having doubts about [whether there are] security issues etc," said Chambers (pictured).

He was, however, quick to point out that his remarks were not "directed at China" as a whole, a country he believes "will be a very good trading partner".

"I would like to see the US and China get closer together," he added.

According to reports, Huawei has described Chambers' comments as "unfortunate", while expressing its "respect" for Cisco and its achievements.