--- description: The presidential hopeful explained 'that is why they are stealing our intellectual property' title: Ex-HP CEO Carly Fiorina says Chinese 'don't innovate' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe26b8abe5012790/6987ee8706f2c1317d338184/carly-fiorina1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Carly Fiorina Says the Chinese 'Don't Innovate' by [Tom Huddleston/Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## Tom Huddleston/Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 26, 2015 8:32 PM CUT  Republican presidential hopeful Carly Fiorina speaks at TechCrunchÕs Disrupt conference on May 5, 2015 in New York City. Republican presidential hopeful Carly Fiorina speaks at TechCrunchÕs Disrupt conference on May 5, 2015 in New York City.Andrew Burton—Getty Images by [Tom Huddleston/Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## Tom Huddleston/Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 26, 2015 8:32 PM CUT Former Hewlett-Packard CEO and current Republican [presidential candidate](http://fortune.com/2015/05/04/carly-fiorina-famous-president/ "undefined") Carly Fiorina apparently doesn’t think very highly of the Common Core education policy or of China’s ability to innovate. How are those two things related? Well, Fiorina has criticized proponents of Common Core who think the policy will help U.S. students compete with Chinese students in subjects like math and science. The [2016 presidential hopeful](http://fortune.com/2015/05/05/carly-fiorina-techcrunch-disrupt/ "undefined") told Iowa political video blog [_Caffeinated Thoughts_](https://caffeinatedthoughts.com/2015/05/carly-fiorina-once-supported-race-to-the-top-nclb/ "undefined") earlier this year that the U.S. education system should not be modeled after China’s. Chinese students may test well, she said, but they fall short when it comes to innovation. [BuzzFeed](http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/carly-fiorina-the-chinese-cant-innovate-not-terribly-imagina?utm%5Fterm=.me6akPq6k#.mhm4d10mKM "undefined") pulled this quote from Fiorina’s video interview, in which she cited her years of business experience in China: --- > “” --- Fiorina has broached this subject before, arguing in her book, _Rising to the Challenge: My Leadership Journey_, thatChina’s educational model is “too homogenized and controlled to encourage imagination and risk taking.” The former HP \[fortune-stock symbol=”HPQ”\] chief executive’s political experience is limited to her failed 2010 U.S. Senate bid. Fiorina’s [tenure as HP CEO](http://fortune.com/2011/08/21/why-carlys-big-bet-is-failing-fortune-classics-2005/ "undefined") ended in 2005, when the company’s board forced her to resign following years of stagnant profits and a massive, ill-advised merger with Compaq. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3897081/carly-fiorina-china-innovation/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3897081/carly-fiorina-china-innovation/"},"headline":"Carly Fiorina Says the Chinese 'Don't Innovate'","datePublished":"2015-05-26T20:32:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:05:29.231Z","description":"The presidential hopeful explained 'that is why they are stealing our intellectual property'.","url":"https://time.com/3897081/carly-fiorina-china-innovation/","keywords":["Tech","Innovation","China","Common Core","Hewlett Packard","Carly Fiorina","pubdesk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe26b8abe5012790/6987ee8706f2c1317d338184/carly-fiorina1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tom Huddleston/Fortune"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe26b8abe5012790/6987ee8706f2c1317d338184/carly-fiorina1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Republican presidential hopeful Carly Fiorina speaks at TechCrunchÕs Disrupt conference on May 5, 2015 in New York City.","caption":"Republican presidential hopeful Carly Fiorina speaks at TechCrunchÕs Disrupt conference on May 5, 2015 in New York City.","creditText":"Andrew Burton—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3897081/carly-fiorina-china-innovation/","name":"Carly Fiorina Says the Chinese 'Don't Innovate'"}}]}] ```