Vice Premier Wu Yi is the world’s second most powerful woman, according to a Forbes magazine list that also included India’s Sonia Gandhi, Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri and Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Peng Peiyun, president of the All-China Women’s Federation, was number 47 on the list of the world’s 100 most powerful women, while Xie Qihua, chair and president of the Shanghai Baosteel Group, was in 55th place. Ma Xuezheng, vice chair of the Lenovo Group, was in 80th place.

Condoleezza Rice, the national security advisor of U.S. President George W. Bush, topped the Forbes list, published in the September 6 issue.

Sonia Gandhi, president of India’s ruling Congress Party, came in third.

Fourth through seventh places were dominated by American women: US First Lady Laura Bush, Senator Hillary Clinton and two Supreme Court justices. Megawati came in eighth, followed by Arroyo. Hewlett-Packard chair and chief executive Carly Fiorina rounded out the top ten.

Forbes assigns a numerical weight to each candidate based on job title, resume, sphere of power and global media mentions.

Top Singapore businesswoman Ho Ching, the wife of newly installed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, was a notable non-politician appearing in the list.

The list also includes heiresses, media and entertainment personalities, queens and the wives of political leaders.

(China Daily August 23, 2004)