Xie Qihua and Xu Lejiang shakes hands at a company conference, May 17, 2006. [baidu.com]

Xie, often called "iron lady" in China, has been repeatedly been nominated as one of the world's most influential businesswomen by various business magazines although she seldom gave interviews to the media.

Xie joined Baosteel in 1978 when the company was founded. She became company president in 1994 and later the chairwoman.

During her tenure, Baoshan Steel was successfully listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2000. The company's annual crude steel production capacity is around 22 million metric tons now from 7.5 million tons in 2000.

Reports have said Xie may pursue a post in a government department in charge of the restructuring of state enterprises.

1

2

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)