"I admire Hilary Clinton very much, because she didn't confine her social role to just a wife. She is powerful," Li said.

Along with Zong and Li, many successful businesswomen shared their experiences at a Special Women Session at the forum.

A survey by recruiting firm Hays earlier this month showed that 36 percent of management roles in China are held by women, compared with the Asian average of 28 percent.

According to Hays, China has made remarkable progress in developing and promoting its female workforce into management positions.

These findings are supported by a Grant Thornton report last March, which said that women in the Chinese mainland topped the world in terms of holding senior business management roles, even beating the US and the UK.

Behind the success is better education across the country.

Figures released by the All-China Women's Federation showed on average women received 8.4 years of education, only 0.8 years less than men, and 51.4 percent of undergraduates and 49 percent of postgraduates in the country are female.

Jean-Paul Agon, chairman of the French cosmetics company L'Oreal Group, said about half of the firm's management posts in China are held by women and that they have shown great potential and capability.

Although Zong has yet to take full charge of Hangzhou Wahaha Group, she is investing in the future. The group spent 70 million yuan to set up a Kelly food research institute in Zhejiang University to work on new products and nurture talent.

And Li is striving to improve her music business "so that I can help more women to succeed."

Women at the top

Top 10 richest women 2014