In the love-hate U.S.-China relationship, there has been no shortage of competition: cyberwars, currency wars, intellectual property wars and, most recently, the tug-of-war over a certain asylum-seeking leaker of secrets.

Then there is the rivalry over who has the best-dressed first lady, capped by China's surprising anointment as the winner last week by Vanity Fair.

For the second consecutive year, Michelle Obama did not make the cut for the high-fashion magazine's "International Best-Dressed" list. But China's new first lady did. Peng Liyuan "sails onto the list," as Vanity Fair put it in a photo gallery highlighting Peng's eye for trendy-yet-stately attire.