China's image takes a battering as majority of nations brand it a 'negative influence'
Survey of 25 countries and EU sees rise in 'mostly negative' rating and decline in 'mostly positive' rating, with analysts divided on reasons
Global views of China's influence have deteriorated sharply, according to a poll conducted for the BBC's World Service, reaching their lowest level in years.
Analysts said the change reflected China's increasing positive and negative involvement in international affairs.
The 2013 Country Ratings Poll asked 26,299 people in 25 nations between December and April to rate 16 countries and the European Union on whether their influence in the world was "mostly positive" or "mostly negative".
Views on China's influence dropped to the lowest level since the poll began in 2005, with positive views falling eight points to 42 per cent and negative views rising eight points to 39 per cent.
China ranked ninth, behind the US. Of the 25 countries surveyed, 12 held positive views of China, 13 negative views. China ranked fifth in the 2011-2012 poll.
Perceptions of China have deteriorated markedly within the EU, with the percentage of negative views highest in France and second-highest in Spain. In both countries the negative response rose by 19 points in the latest survey, to 68 per cent in France and 67 per cent in Spain.