It’s an honor just to be nominated. It’s more fun to win. The Wall Street Journal Asia’s annual review of the region’s 200 most-admired companies came out today, and Alibaba.com turned up as No. 1 in China.

Of course, these things tend to be rather subjective – the rankings are determined by a poll of business executives and other professionals throughout Asia – but it’s worth noting that Alibaba was chosen above Chinese Internet heavyweights Tencent Holdings and Baidu. The company also topped well-known brands such as Lenovo (computers), Li Ning (athletic shoes and sportswear) and BYD (autos).

Winners “have earned strong reputations in a challenging environment,” the Journal’s editors said. Alibaba.com, China’s largest B2B e-commerce company, is particularly admired by business leaders for innovation and vision, according to the newspaper’s survey. Topping the rankings in other countries were Nintendo in Japan, Samsung in South Korea and Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong.

China’s Top 10

Ranked by average score

1. Alibaba.com
2. China Merchants Bank
3. Tencent Holdings
4. Lenovo
5. China Vanke
6. Li Ning
7. Baidu
8. BYD
9. Tsingtao Brewery
10. Ctrip.com