Cisco Systems' China chief will leave his current post but continue to work for the firm, the world's biggest computer networking equipment manufacturer, a company source said yesterday.

An anonymous official with Cisco China confirmed that Jia Bin-Duh, the company's president and a veteran of China's information technology and communications industry, will leave his position. Cisco has yet to appoint a new China chief.

The official would not give a reason for the management change, but said Duh will remain with the firm.

Duh was the first president of Microsoft China before joining Cisco China as the country president in 1998. Prior to that, he also worked at Hewlett Packard for more than ten years.

Since May there have been rumours that Zheng Yaw-Sun, the president of HP China, will replace Duh as Cisco China president, while Duh will be promoted and become president of Cisco Asia-Pacific.

But Cisco actually appointed Oven Chan as president of Cisco, Asia-Pacific on August 1.

Duh, born in Taiwan, is said to be one of the most successful Chinese executives working for the China operations of major global technology giants. With a keen understanding of western corporate management as well as Chinese culture, Duh has helped turn China into the fifth largest market for Cisco.

In June Duh said he hoped for a double-digit growth of Cisco China for this year, and expected to move 40 percent of Cisco's outsourced manufacturing to China by 2006.

But Cisco's global operations later backed away from the estimate, saying in a statement that it will maintain "geographically balanced" production.

(China Daily August 4, 2005)