U.S. image picks up, China and Russia worsen: poll

LONDON (Reuters) - The image of the United States around the world has improved in the past year while China and Russia's standing in other countries has slipped, according to an opinion poll published on Friday.

However, the public's view of the United States remains mainly negative, despite the election of President Barack Obama, the global poll for the BBC World Service found.

America's positive rating rose five points to 40 percent while negatives dipped four points to 43 percent, the poll said.

Pollster GlobeScan, working with the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland, questioned 13,575 people in 20 countries and Central America in the 10 weeks ended February 1.

They were asked about their views of 15 selected countries and the European Union.

In a similar poll a year ago, people leaned toward saying China and Russia had a positive influence in the world.

But views of China are now divided with 40 percent rating it negatively (up seven points from last year) compared with 39 percent who viewed it positively (down six points).

The poll offered no reason for the decline in perception of China, which hosted a widely-praised Olympic Games in 2008 but also faced protests against Chinese rule in Tibet.

People with a negative view of Russia rose eight points from last year to 42 percent while those with a positive view fell five points to 30 percent.