China’s Most Powerful People 2009

40 Chinese with the Most Influence
After the Lehman bankruptcy, China’s economy suffered a sharp slowdown. But thanks in part to a huge government stimulus program, things are humming again. Since the Communist Party still firmly in charge of the country, BusinessWeek’s list of the most influential Chinese has plenty of government officials. But there are also many corporate executives, entrepreneurs, and others who make this year’s list, which was compiled by BusinessWeek’s team of Beijing- and Hong Kong-based reporters and editors. For more on China’s Most Powerful (arranged in alphabetical order), read on.

Bo Xilai
Age: 60
Party Secretary, Chongqing

The son of Bo Yibo, a former top revolutionary, Bo Xilai got an early start in politics when he was put in charge of northeastern China’s once gritty industrial port of Dalian. He won kudos for transforming that city into one of China’s cleanest and most business-friendly municipalities. After doing a stint as Commerce Secretary, Bo now has the top job in southwestern Chongqing, where he has presided over a crackdown on organized crime.

Chen Deming
Age: 60
Minister of Commerce

Shanghai-born Chen learned about rural China working for five years in the countryside during the Cultural Revolution. He eventually got a PhD in management and worked his way up the Communist Party ladder, becoming Minister of Commerce in 2007. Chen plays a key part in China’s dealings with regional and international groupings, such as ASEAN and APEC.

Dong Mingzhu
Age: 55
Vice-Chairwoman & President, Gree Electric Appliances

Before becoming president in 2001, Dong worked in sales. That made her particularly skilled in steering Gree, China’s top producer of air conditioners, toward a greater focus on marketing. Under her leadership, Gree has adopted flexible sales strategies while investing heavily in research and development. As a result, average annual growth has topped 30% since 2005.

Hou Weigui

Age: 68
Chairman, ZTE

Over the past few years, Hou has managed to take ZTE out of the shadow cast by its larger neighbor, Huawei. Hou, who founded ZTE in 1985, is in the process of transforming his company, one of the world’s leading providers of telecom equipment, into a top consumer brand. ZTE is now the world’s No. 6 maker of cell phones, and Hou wants to be No. 3 within a few more years. “We still have a long way to go,” he says.

Hu Jintao
Age: 66
President, Peoples Republic of China

Hu is an engineer by training, with a degree from Tsinghua University’s department of water conservancy engineering. As a rising official in the Communist Party, he had positions in many impoverished parts of the country, including Tibet. That could be one reason, since becoming China’s top leader in 2002, he has promoted as policy a “Harmonious Society” that eases the gap between China’s wealthy coastal regions and the poor interior.

Li Ning
Age: 46
Chairman, Li-Ning Co.

This legendary former gymnast, who wowed the world with his breathtaking performance at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, has built a local sportswear brand that’s expected to outrun all rivals except Nike in China this year. Leveraging his fame as an Olympic gold medalist, Li began franchising online retailers in 2007, and his company was one of the first local manufacturers to open its official e-store in 2008.

Robin Li
Age: 41
Chairman & CEO, Baidu

He has out-Googled Google. Li co-founded Baidu 10 years ago, and the search engine today dominates the Chinese market. In 2005, Baidu became the first Chinese company to be included in the Nasdaq 100 index, and last year Li launched a Japanese version. Li, who earned a master’s in computer science from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1994, has patented the hyper link analysis he developed and which his company now uses.

Li Shufu
Age: 46
President, Geely Auto

Auto executives around the world wondering whether China’s industry will follow in the footsteps of Japan and Korea are keeping an eye on Li. The president of Geely is aiming to buy Volvo from Ford for roughly $2 billion. In September, Li got a vote of approval from Goldman Sachs (GS), as Geely sold a 12% stake to an investment fund connected to the bank for $245  million.

Justin Lin
Age: 57
Chief Economist & Senior Vice-President, World Bank

As an officer in Taiwan’s military, Lin defected in 1979, swimming to the mainland from a Taiwanese-held island several miles off the coast. Lin, who has spent the past 30 years studying China’s economic growth, last year became the first World Bank chief economist from China. He has said he wants to “bring in the perspective of developing countries to World Bank’s policy thinking.”

Liu Chuanzhi
Age: 65
Chairman, Lenovo Group
President & CEO, Lenovo Holdings

After orchestrating the takeover of the PC division of IBM in 2005, Liu retired as chairman of China’s top computer firm. But with the company struggling, he returned in February to put Lenovo back on the growth path. On Nov. 5 the company reported quarterly earnings had doubled, to $53 million, from a year earlier.

Liu Mingkang
Age: 63
Chairman, China Banking Regulatory Commission

As head of the CBRC since 2003, Liu has overseen the restructuring and listing of some of China’s largest state-owned banks, including the $9.7 billion listing of Bank of China, where he previously served as chairman. He is also a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the People’s Bank of China. His regularly published comments on loan growth and liquidity arevery bit as powerful to China as the Fed chief’s remarks are to the U.S.

Lou Jiwei
Age: 59
Chairman, China Investment Corp.

As the ultimate manager of China’s $300 billion sovereign wealth fund, Lou is one of the world’s most influential investors. Lou kept CIC’s powder dry during the worst of the financial crisis but now is on the prowl for more deals. On Nov. 6, for instance, CIC reached a deal to pay $1.58 billion for a 15% stake in AES (AES), a power company from Virginia.

Lu Chuan
Age: 38
Movie Director

Lu this year has emerged as China’s most controversial filmmaker. A native of the far western region of Xinjiang, Lu studied at the Beijing Film Academy and his first two films, The Missing Gun and Kekexili: Mountain Patrol, won him top honors in film festivals in China and Taiwan. But the reaction to those movies was nothing compared to the reception of City of Life and Death. The movie (also known as Nanjing! Nanjing!) came out in April, and while it dealt with the brutal history of the Nanjing Massacre during World War II, many Chinese were angered by what they saw as its sympathetic portrayal of a Japanese soldier.

Jack Ma
Age: 45
Chairman, Alibaba

After having built China’s biggest e-commerce group, Ma is looking overseas. The former English teacher is pushing an aggressive expansion plan, opening operations in neighboring countries as well as farther afield in places such as Turkey. When Ma started Alibaba 10 years ago, he faced many doubters, “but we made it happen,” he boasts. Now, he says, “we think our model can work in India, in Japan, in Mexico, in Peru”—anywhere.

Pony Ma
Age: 38
Chairman & CEO, Tencent Holdings

Ma first encountered instant messaging while developing Internet paging systems after college graduation. Fascinated, he decided to develop an IM service in China and in 1999 co-founded Tencent, which now has 448 million active accounts. Under Ma’s leadership, Tencent has become China’s fourth-largest Internet portal with diversified lines of business ranging from e-commerce to search.

Ma Weihua
Age: 60
President, China Merchants Bank

One of China most innovative bankers, Ma put his leadership skills to work in transforming China Merchants from an obscure, weak bank into an industry leader. Today, China Merchants is one of the country’s most profitable banks. Ma is the bank’s best marketing weapon, persuading clients eloquently that China Merchants is well run and reform-minded.

Ren Zhengfei
Age: 65
President & CEO, Huawei Technologies

Since founding Huawei in 1988, Ren has built the Shenzhen-based producer of telecommunications equipment into a global power. Ren, a former military officer, keeps a low profile and shuns requests for interviews. Huawei’s attempt to buy a stake in 3Com flopped in 2008 following opposition to the deal in Washington.

Shi Zhengrong
Age: 46
Chairman & CEO, Suntech Power

Shi moved to Australia in the late 1980s and earned a PhD from the University of New South Wales before returning to China and launching Suntech. The company, which listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2005, today is one of the world’s top producers of crystalline silicon solar modules. He’s currently on the defensive, though, fending off charges that Suntech and other Chinese producers are dumping products overseas—a charge he denies.

Song Hongbing
Age: 41
Author, Currency Wars

In 2007, one of China’s best-selling books was Song’s Currency Wars, a screed about a world-domination plot by international bankers who were about to make China their next target. In this year’s sequel, Currency Wars 2, Song describes a cabal of financiers who plan to introduce a single world currency to replace the dollar.

Wang Chuanfu
Age: 43
President & CEO, BYD

Warren Buffett’s a fan of Wang, who dreams of turning BYD into China’s leading automaker by 2015. BYD (short for “Build Your Dream,” says Wang) got its start making batteries for cell phones and won a big vote of confidence last year when MidAmerican Energy, controlled by Berkshire Hathaway, agreed to pay $231 million for a 10% stake in BYD. The company launched it first plug-in hybrid shortly after and plans on selling BYD cars in North America next year.

Wang Jianzhou
Age: 60
Chairman & CEO, China Mobile

There aren’t many telecom executives willing to say no to Apple. Wang, China Mobile’s boss, is one. After lengthy negotiations to introduce the iPhone in China went nowhere, Wang is having China Mobile, the world’s largest cellular operator, focus on its own line of smartphones, while Apple teams up with smaller rival China Unicom.

Wang Qishan
Age: 61
Vice-Premier

As mayor of Beijing in 2003, Shanxi-native Wang gained a reputation as an unflappable troubleshooter for his cool-headed handling of the SARS crisis. That gravitas no doubt serves Wang well when, as vice-premier in charge of finance, he meets with U.S. economic and commerce officials to discuss the Sino-U.S. trade relationship. The chain-smoking Wang previously served as head of the China Bank of Construction, where he oversaw the creation of China International Investment Corp., China’s first joint-venture bank, with Morgan Stanley.

Wang Shi
Age: 58
Chairman, Vanke

He’s a popular author and blogger and an avid mountain climber who has scaled the highest peaks on seven continents. But Wang, chairman of China’s largest property developer, may be best known for his squeaky clean reputation in the notoriously corrupt property market.

Wang Yang
Age: 54
Guangdong Party Boss

It’s one of the toughest jobs in Chinese politics. Wang is overseeing the economic transformation of China’s once-proud export powerhouse Guangdong province. With China’s trade expected to fall 20% this year, the native of neighboring Anhui province has launched ambitious reforms intended to rebalance the southern province’s economy away from exports and toward a more sustainable, consumption-driven, innovative, and cleaner economy.

Wei Jiafu
Age: 59
President & CEO, China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO)

Since he took the helm at COSCO in 1998, Wei has built the shipping company into one of the world’s biggest logistics providers with $17 billion in revenue and over 800 ships. Wei’s goal is to transform COSCO from a pure shipping company to a logistics giant with air-, sea-, and land-cargo handling capacities.

Wen Jiabao
Age: 67
Premier

Once known as an unassuming bureaucrat, Tianjin-native Wen has become one of China’s most popular leaders, particularly for his dogged efforts during last year’s devastating Sichuan earthquake. Wen earned the top job after working as a deputy for former Premier Zhu Rongji, where he was responsible for the tough tasks of agricultural modernization and financial reform.

Wu Gang
Age: 51
President & CEO, Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology

Based in Urumqi, Goldwind is the largest wind turbine manufacturer in China and one of the 10 largest in the world. Under Wu’s leadership, the company has grown rapidly and last year acquired a turbine manufacturer based in Germany. Now comes Wu’s next challenge: Goldwind announced in September plans for a Hong Kong initial public offering.

Xi Jinping
Age: 56
Vice-President

Xi is China’s heir-apparent, in line to succeed Hu Jintao in 2012 as China’s top leader. This 56-year-old “princeling”—his father was former Vice-Premier Xi Zhongxun—earned a doctorate in Marxist theory from Tsinghua University but now has a reputation as a supporter of rapid economic reform.

Xia Deren
Age: 54
Dalian Party Boss

With a doctorate in economics and a resume that includes a stint as a university president, Xia represents the new breed of Chinese Communist Party official. As the Party Secretary of the northeastern coastal city of Dalian, Xia is in the vanguard of China’s attempt to craft a new economic strategy to propel growth in the future.

Andy Xie
Age: 49
Board member, Rosetta Stone Advisors

A former economist at Morgan Stanley, Xie left the bank after someone leaked an internal memo of his criticisms of Singapore. Now that he’s on his own, Xie still isn’t pulling any punches. Through his columns in Caijing, one of the top magazines in China, and Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, the economist frequently takes aim at policymakers at home and abroad. A recent piece, for instance, warns U.S. President Barack Obama not to pressure China to revalue its currency, warning a revaluation “would only destabilize its unbalanced economy.”

Xu Xiaonian
Age: 56
Professor of Economics & Finance at CEIBS

One of the most controversial economists in China, Xu teaches at the China Europe International Business School, the top B-school program in the country. In 2008 he called the stock market a casino, persuading some retail investors to withdraw.

Yao Ming
Age: 28
Center, Houston Rockets

Yao made history by becoming the first Chinese basketball player to land a lucrative NBA contract in 2002. The 7-foot, 5-inch star has been plagued by injuries, but he’s still China’s highest-paid celebrity thanks to his multimillion-dollar contract with the Rockets and his lucrative endorsement deals with Coke (KO), Visa (V), Nike (NKE), and others.

Don Ye
Age: 45
President & CEO, Tsing Capital

With the Chinese government determined to improve the country’s polluted environment, green technology is one of the hottest sectors for startups. That puts Ye in a good position. The founding partner of Tsing Capital, a venture capital arm of Beijing-based Tsinghua University, he runs the first clean-tech investment firm in China. Before starting Tsing Capital, Ye accumulated more than 10 years of venture capital experience in both Silicon Valley and China.

Yin Tongyue
Age: 47
Chairman & General Manager, Chery

The son of farmers in Anhui, a poor province in central China, Yin worked for Chinese automaker FAW after graduating from college, and in the early 1990s was in charge of closing a Volkswagen plant in Pennsylvania and sending equipment back to China. In 1995 he joined Chery, building it from scratch into China’s largest car exporter. The company exported 135,000 cars last year, half of the country’s total, and last December it received $1.5 billion in funding from China’s export-import bank to fuel further growth.

Yue Minjun
Age: 46
Artist

Yue is one of the most famous of the first generation of avant-garde artists to emerge after the end of the Cultural Revolution. He is best known for painting laughing figures with unnaturally uniform teeth, and his canvases can fetch millions at international art auctions.

Zhang Qingwei
Age: 60
Chairman, Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China

Zhang, formerly a top manager in China’s space program, no longer has to worry about how to get the Chinese to the moon. Instead, he is now facing the challenge of marketing China-made jets globally. Last year he became head of CACC, China’s first jumbo passenger aircraft company.

Zhang Ruimin
Age: 60
CEO, Haier Group

In 25 years, Zhang has transformed Haier from an ailing maker of refrigerators into the world’s fourth-largest white appliances company. Haier has manufacturing facilities and distribution channels in South Carolina as well as Italy, India, and Thailand. In May it announced it would acquire a 20% stake in New Zealand’s home-appliance maker Fisher & Paykel.

Zhang Ziyi
Age: 29
Actress

Since starring at age 21 in the Oscar-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in 2000, Beijing-native Zhang Ziyi has become probably the best-known Chinese woman in the world. With roles in Memoirs of a Geisha, House of Flying Daggers, and The Banquet under her belt, the graduate of China’s Central Academy of Drama is now trying her hand at producing. She produced and starred in Sophie’s Revenge, which opened in China over the summer.

Zhou Xiaochuan
Age: 61
Governor of People’s Bank of China

The falling dollar is raising anxiety levels in China, which has more than $2 trillion in foreign reserves and is the world’s biggest holder of greenbacks. No wonder, then, that Zhou, governor of China’s central bank since 2002, captured media attention in March with a speech calling for policymakers to consider an alternative to the dollar as the global reserve currency.

Jonathan Zhu
Age: 46
Managing Director, Bain Capital

Before joining Bain in 2006, Zhu was in charge of Morgan Stanley China and managed the $9.2 billion initial public offering for China Construction Bank as well as the successful listing of China Unicom. At Bain, Zhu oversaw the acquisition in June of a controlling stake in Gome, China’s largest electronic retailer. Zhu got his first degree in English at Zhengzhou University before later earning a J.D. from Cornell Law School and an MBA from Nanjing University.

From: Businessweek