Fiorina pledges firmness with China, says nix state dinner

Republican presidential hopeful Carly Fiorina joined her GOP rivals this week in saying Chinese President Xi Jinping should not be honored with a state dinner at the White House.

The former Hewlett-Packard CEO said during a national security forum in South Carolina that she still would meet privately with Xi. But she said she would cancel the dinner as just one step in a new hard line against Beijing, which she criticized for cybersecurity threats, Xi’s military buildup in the South China Sea and human rights abuses.