Cisco chief executive Chuck Robbins says the tech giant has to tough out a trying period as US President Donald Trump's China trade war hits the company particularly hard, but he believes there is enough growth in the booming artificial intelligence space to soften the economic blows.

Speaking exclusively to The Australian Financial Review during a visit to Australia, Mr Robbins addressed the problems facing technology companies, which source equipment and expertise from China, after it earlier emerged that aggressive US tariffs had already caused Cisco to pass on price rises of up to 25 per cent to some of its resellers.