Peng among world's powerful women

China's first lady Peng Liyuan has made it onto Forbes' list of the world's 100 most powerful women.

The magazine complimented Peng for the impact she had in changing the image of China. Her Made-in-China fashion statement caught the attention of the world when she traveled with President Xi Jinping during his recent official trips abroad.

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel topped the World's Most Powerful Women 2013 - the seventh time as No. 1 of the eight times she made it on the list.

Peng, who is also a UN ambassador for health and a Goodwill Ambassador for the World Health Organization focusing on TB and HIV/AIDS, ranked 54 on the list.

Sonia Gandhi, president of the ruling Congress Party of India, ranked No. 9, the highest in Asia.

Peng is a member of the Public Diplomacy Association, an organization tasked to make China more appealing abroad. Forbes said the former superstar folk singer was often joked about for being more famous than her husband. She became a household name years ago.

Moreover, fashion editors watch her for her mostly Made-in-China style in public with her husband.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff ranked second in the world; Melinda Gates, co-chair of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, ranked third; US first lady Michelle Obama ranked fourth; former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ranked fifth; South Korean President Park Geun-hye ranked 11th.

Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, was the highest ranked Chinese at No. 33.

The other Chinese on the list were HTC founder Cher Wang, Chongqing LongFor Real Estate chairman Wu Yajun, SOHO China CEO Zhang Xin, and Baidu CFO Jennifer Li.

From a preliminary group of over 250 candidates, Forbes selected the 100 most influential women from seven categories or power bases: billionaires, business, lifestyle (including entertainment and fashion), media, nonprofits and NGOs, politics and technology.

To determine the rank within each category, as well as overall rank on the list of 100 top women, Forbes applied three metrics - money, media presence and impact.