Feng Zhongping, a European studies expert at China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, attributed the low rating of China among Europeans to some of the media that tend to lead the people toward the perception of China being "a potential threat".

The white space in this chart represents "Depends", "Neither / neutral", and "Don't Know / No Answer" Mainly positive Mainly negative [Shen Wei/China Daily]

Gong said such prejudice is unlikely to be erased soon. However, "as long as China remains a responsible country, the world is going to judge it fairly in time".

The true picture in China is not just fast development, but also a "huge development challenge", according to British Ambassador to China Sebastian Wood, who visited eight cities across the country within 88 days of taking office three months ago.

"China combines amazing modernity with real development challenges," Wood said in Beijing on Tuesday, adding 500 million Chinese still live on less than $2 a day.

China ranks 11th in the 28 countries or regions mentioned in the poll, behind Germany, Canada, the European Union, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Brazil, the United States, South Africa and India.

Positive views toward the United States for the first time exceeded the negative, with 46 percent holding positive views compared to 34 percent holding negative views.

Attitudes toward Russia were still predominantly negative, though softened, with 37 percent being negative and 30 percent positive.