Forbes magazine describes her as proud, elegant and intelligent and recently ranked her third most influential woman in the world in its annual power poll. Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi, widely regarded as the country's top woman politician, is in potent company in the upper echelons of the poll. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is in top spot, with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in second place.

The 67-year-old dynamo dreamed of becoming a great entrepreneur in her youth, but found her niche as the only female figure in China's core political corridor of power.

Having risen through the ranks of the ruling Communist Party of China since 1962, Wu became the only woman member in the Party's 24-member decision-making body in 2002, adding the position of minister of health to her resume when the SARS crisis hit in 2003.

China's resource-starved and fast-paced economy has kept the country's iron lady busy this year, it added, saying that among the top issues on her agenda are addressing intellectual copyright concerns and trade imbalances, while nurturing new markets.

Over the past year, she comforted the European Union by clarifying the point that bilateral trade cooperation is in the common interests of both sides. On a recent visit to the United States, she helped secure more than $18 billion worth of government contracts, while her official goodwill trip to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea contributed to international efforts to peacefully resolve the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.

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

The poll is based on a composite of visibility factors measured by media exposure and economic impact.