China tops the world menacing nations, with Iran and DPRK left behind, according to the latest survey in Europe conducted by Financial Times, a British-based newspaper.

According to Financial Times, the poll was conducted in cooperation with Harris Interactive, and it surveyed 5381 European residents from 5 different countries throughout Europe, among which, 1122 were from Britain, 1114 from France, 1028 from German and 1105 from Italy. All of them were questioned about the country posing the biggest threat to the world stability on their mind. The result turns out that China, chosen by 35% of the interviewees, is topping the list.

The same sort of question was also asked one year ago and the survey this time suggests an increase in the number of people in Italy who see China a menace, from 26% last year to 47% this time.

Sharp increase in the number of people holding the similar view on China is also seen in France, German and UK. In France, the figure rises from 22% last year to 36% today. In the previous year, only 18% of Germen viewed China very dangerous, but now, the figure is nearly doubled, at 35%. As to the British, 27% of them thinks China as a major threat to the world at present, up from 16% last year.

Facing the result, Mark Leonard, Executive Director of the European Council on Foreign Relations says that most Europeans regarded China as a land abound with economic opportunities 5 years ago, but the China's role on the Darfur issue and its handling of the Tibet riot had apparently tarnished China over the past 6 months.

Ever since the Tibetan riot in March, some of the Western countries and media had been trying to boycott Beijing Olympics in the name of Human Rights. Inevitably, many Europeans were prejudiced on China under the influence of those biased reports.