Part 4: China's Diplomatic and Military Image

Overseas countries attach great importance to friendly relations with China, and look forward to development in these fields.

On average, 65% of the overseas respondents attach great importance to friendly relations with China and look forward to development in these fields. This figure has increased compared with 2013. Among the eight countries, the Russian people have the highest expectation, with 92% believing their bilateral relations with China should be further strengthened.

Most people think China should take more international responsibilities.

 About 37% of the respondents thought China is only active in international affairs that are relevant to its own interests, and does not take enough responsibilities. It's worth noting that this view accounts for a large proportion of the respondents in both developing and developed countries.

New Asian Security Concept" draws wide attention.

At the 2014 Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) held in Shanghai, Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward the "New Asian Security Concept" featuring common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. The concept drew the attention of overseas respondents: among the 763 respondents who had heard of the Shanghai conference, half chose it as the topic they follow with interest.

Fear of a "China military threat" still exists in Western countries.

The survey shows that the fear of a "China military threat" still exists in some Western countries such as the US, the UK and Japan. On average, 35% of the respondents thought that China's military poses a threat to the territorial security of other countries. Compared with the previous surveys, more respondents believed that China's military is an important force for "maintaining international order" and "maintaining world peace", with 28% and 17% agreeing with the statements respectively.