Watson, ranked 103 places below Wang, won 6-3 6-0 against the number two seed in one hour 18 minutes in China.

The 27-year-old had not beaten an opponent ranked as high as Wang since victory over world number 19 Anastasija Sevastova at Wimbledon in 2017.

Victory was only Watson's second in a WTA tournament this year.

She will play Poland's Magda Linette or Japan's Kurumi Nara in her first WTA quarter-final since reaching the Hobart Open semi-finals in January 2018.

Wang, 27, was ranked as high as 12th earlier this year, after losing in the US Open quarter-finals to Serena Williams.