Chinese President Xi Jinping was named third on a list of the World's Most Powerful People released by Forbes magazine on Wednesday.

He followed Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama.

Forbes said that Xi was quick to see the benefits of China's further reforms and signs of fresh thinking are everywhere.

He has a surprisingly assertive public profile, even allowing state media to publish a day-in-the-life account of his workday. Xi has fought harder than his predecessors against corruption and in favor of greater economic and security alliances, according to the magazine.

Others from the Chinese mainland making the list include Jack Ma (30th), founder of China's e-commerce giant Alibaba; Robin Li (41st), founder of Baidu, China's largest online search company; Ding Xuedong (43rd), chairman and CEO of China's largest sovereign wealth funds China Investment Corporation and chairman of one of the country's leading investment banks China International Capital Corp (CICC); and Ma Huateng (53rd), founder and CEO of Tencent.