Wozniacki, who won the tournament back in 2010, clinched the opening set before Wang hit back to take it to a decider at the Olympic Green Tennis Center in the Chinese capital.

The Danish player, ranked at number six in the world, then recovered to seal a 6-1, 6-7, 6-1 victory to book a place in round two.

The 27-year-old will take on Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia, who overcame Lauren Davis of the United States 6-1, 6-1, in the second round.

Third seed Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine had no such trouble against a Chinese opponent as she confidently swept aside Zhu Lin 6-3, 6-2 to join Wozniacki in progressing to the next round.

"I was very happy to be back and playing well," said Svitolina.

"It’s my first tournament after the US Open, so it was very exciting. 

"I was excited to play, and I’m happy to have played solid tennis today.

"It’s always tough to play a girl from the same country as the crowd, because the fans will want her to win. 

"But I’m very focused on my game, and I was just trying to be really positive, playing one point at a time. 

"That really helped me."

The men's event, which features the likes of US Open champion Rafael Nadal, Germany's Alexander Zverev and Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro, is due to start tomorrow.