Can China win Miss Universe?

Miss China Luo Zilin (right) and "Chinese Oprah" Yue-sai Kan form a brains-and-beauty combination to compete at Miss Universe 2011 in Sao Paolo.

Hosting the Olympics, developing a space program, and building infrastructure projects in Africa have all signaled China’s increasing importance as a global player. And when it comes to beauty pageants, the Middle Kingdom is pulling out all the stops.

Miss Universe -- one of the world’s most publicized beauty pageants -- is setting up shop in Sao Paolo. The new Miss China, Luo Zilin (罗紫琳), a 24-year-old 1.82-meter-tall model from Shanghai, will represent the country to walk and talk in front of the world on September 12.

Longing for its first Miss Universe crown, China is looking to Yue-Sai Kan (靳羽西) , one of its most influential faces in the West, for some tips.

24-year-old Shanghai model Luo Zilin (罗紫琳) will be the face of China in Miss Universe 2011.

The woman who can’t sit still

Yue-Sai Kan, American-Chinese TV presenter, author, and founder of a wildly successful eponymous cosmetics brand acquired by L’Oréal, is a woman who can’t sit still.

The 61-year-old was dubbed “the most famous woman in China” by People magazine and “Queen of the Middle Kingdom” by Time. She's also been called the "Chinese Oprah."

Kan rose to fame in United States for hosting the TV show “Looking East” back in the 1970s. Her short bobbed hair and red lips were a synonym of fashion in China in the 1980s and early 1990s.

She might also be the most connected person in the world -- her website shows Kan in candid photos with a Who’s Who of global celebrities in politics, business, and entertainment, ranging from Pope John Paul II to Quincy Jones to Luciano Pavarotti.

Training Miss China

Chatting to Kan in her well-adorned apartment in Jing’an District, she reveals a little more about her latest venture -- serving as National Director of the Miss Universe China pageant.

She is also responsible for training up the new Miss China for her worldwide presentation.

Kan -- who competed in the Narcissus Flower Beauty Pageant in 1966 -- was brought on board to add some avoirdupois to the Miss China pageant and improve contestants’ training and preparation.

This appointment was partially connected with China’s image bequeathed by Miss China, Tang Wen (唐雯) in last year’s Miss Universe.

More on CNNGo: Shanghai beach babes bust bikini barrier

In an embarrassing move which Kan says perpetuated the negative stereotype of the “China doll hooker,” 19-year-old Tang wore a miniskirt to the evening gown competition.

“If you’re a good swimmer but you don’t train, you ain’t getting a medal,” says Kan, comparing the pageant to the Olympics.

A contestant who can demonstrate wit and charm like [reigning French Open women’s tennis champion] Li Na (李娜) could help change the way that people look at China.— John Floretta, former Beijing-based UN diplomat

Beauty boot camp

Luo Zilin had little time to celebrate her victory after being crowned 2011 Miss China at Beijing’s Wu Ke Song Stadium in July.

Luo and runner-up Li Zihan (李姿含) were whisked off to Kan’s apartment in New York City for a pageant boot camp and intensive English language training to prepare for the homestretch in Brazil.

Former runway and glamour model Lu Sierra is charged with teaching the young women how to strut their stuff on the catwalk and other elements of comportment. 

When Sierra is not training models, she advises aspiring executives on body language and exuding confidence (“never give away your neck” applies to both, apparently).

The Miami-born runway instructor equates the pageant to a job interview.

“Miss Universe’s calendar is just as busy as that of a high-level diplomat, with a tight schedule of global appearances,” says Sierra.

China’s soft power

Although model Zhang Zilin (张梓琳) was crowned Miss World in 2007, there has never been a Chinese Miss Universe, and Kan firmly believes that a victory would represent a golden opportunity for China to project its power.

More on CNNGo: Miss Korea 2011: Jazz hands, awkward pauses and 54 beautiful women

When questioned how parading half-naked women on stage constitutes a projection of global might -- on a par with developing an aircraft carrier -- or an NBA All-Star like Yao Ming (姚明), Kan explains that these Miss Universe contestants are not just “walking clothing racks,” and they are “much more expressive” than typical runway models.

Former runway and glamour model Lu Sierra shows the ladies how to strut their stuff.

Sierra also adds that the winner “should really be someone you want to go to lunch with.”

But is producing an agreeable dining companion enough to shape global geopolitics?

“A contestant who can demonstrate wit and charm like [reigning French Open women’s tennis champion] Li Na (李娜) could help change the way that people look at China,” comments John Floretta, a former Beijing-based United Nations diplomat.

More on CNNGo: Vivian Wu: The Shanghainese beauty takes to the silver screen once more

Tune in to the Miss Universe 2011 pageant at 9 a.m. on September 13 (Shanghai time) to see if Miss China Luo Zilin’s rigorous training pays off.