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Sunday September 3, 2006

China’s Vice-Premier impresses world with charming smiles

BEIJING: She dreamed of becoming a great entrepreneur in her youth, but turned into the only female figure in China’s core of political power.

Elegant and intelligent, Vice-Premier Wu Yi, 67, is the world’s third most powerful woman, according to a Forbes magazine list published on Friday.

It also said German Chancellor Angela Merkel overtook US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as the world’s most powerful woman.

But Wu Yi is not the only influential Chinese woman to feature on the list.

She is joined by Wu Xiaoling, 59, vice-governor of the People’s Bank of China, and Yang Mianmian, 65, chairman and executive director at the Haier Group, the world’s fourth-largest manufacturer of household appliances.

They respectively rank 35th and 70th on the list of the world’s 100 most powerful women.

China’s resource-starved and fast-paced economy has kept Vice-Premier Wu Yi busy this year, the US-based magazine said.

“Among the issues on her very full plate are addressing intellectual copyright concerns and trade imbalances while nurturing new markets,” it said.

She placated the European Union when she declared that “bilateral trade cooperation is in the common interests of both sides.”

She announced more than US$18bil (RM68.2bil) worth of government contracts, including an estimated US$5bil (RM18.9bil) order for Boeing aircraft, while visiting the United States in April.

She also travelled to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on an official goodwill visit, part of international efforts to tackle the DPRK nuclear issue.

“In my eyes, Wu Yi is a wise and capable woman, and a little bit aggressive. Her benevolent smiles always give others a sense of security,” said Chen Ruya, who works for a foreign consultancy company in this capital.

Her outstanding performances in China’s diplomatic activities guaranteed her place on the list, Chen said.

Wu Yi helped hammer out five trade agreements with Russia in 1999 and oversaw delicate negotiations for China’s accession to the World Trade Organisation.

She ranked second in 2004 and 2005 on the Forbes list. Its annual listing is based on a power ranking that is a composite of visibility measured by media citations and economic impact.

Besides Wu Yi, Merkel and Rice, the rest of the top 10 are business executives, led by the chief executive-designate of PepsiCo, Indian-born and educated Indra Nooyi.

In its assessment of Wu Xiaoling, Forbes said “no other woman is more powerful in the world of finance in China than Wu Xiaoling.”

She won kudos for restoring confidence in China’s economy and its currency after she helped calm the markets during the Asian financial crisis in 1997-98.

Since last year, Wu Xiaoling has been overseeing the country’s interest rate increases and the reform of the foreign exchange regime, as the United States urges China to make its currency more flexible.

She also has had to quell a growing crisis involving accounting irregularities at the country's rural banks, including wrongdoing amounting to US$6.45bil (RM24.42) in the 2004 books of Agricultural Bank of China.

Yang Mianmian is one of China’s most powerful businesswomen. She became chairman and an executive director of Haier in January last year. – China Daily / Asia News Network

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