Cisco Marches Into China With $16B Expansion

Cisco Systems, the giant of network gear, has announced a long-term, $16 billion expansion into Chinese markets, reports the AP. The multi-part expansion includes doubling Cisco's manufacturing in the country, a venture capital program in collaboration with a government bank, and a partnership with China's largest commerce website to produce business services.

Although China has the world's second-greatest population of Internet users, the web remains heavily censored, and human rights activists have warned Cisco against aiding the government in monitoring Chinese Internet use. Yet Cisco's CEO brushed off those concerns: "One thing tech companies cannot do, in my opinion, is involve themselves in politics in a country." (More Cisco stories.)