Media savvy, proactive person

Fu Ying is not only China's first female vice-foreign minister from an ethnic minority group - she is of Mongolian ethnicity - but also known in diplomatic circles as an unorthodox character.

Aside from a solid professional career, the 57-year-old has won wide praise in recent years for her proactive and down-to-earth style, media savvy and in-depth knowledge about social issues.

As the Chinese ambassador to the UK, she has taken the lead to engage the British press whenever issues have cropped up, such as disruptions to the Beijing Olympics torch relay in April 2008 and the riots in China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region last July. This is a rarity among Chinese diplomats.