China's global status rose last year, and the Sino-Russia relationship was "satisfactory", according to a majority of participants in a recent survey.

Female soldiers of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) march during the military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, in Beijing, Sept 3, 2015. [Photo/www.news.cn]

More than 95 percent of respondents to the online survey said they believed China's international status rose, with nearly 61 percent saying the country's status "rose somewhat", while 35 percent said it "rose greatly".

The survey of public opinion of China's diplomatic work was conducted by the Horizon Research Consultancy Group from Feb 15 to 22, and covered 7,344 participants in 19 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

Another example was President Xi Jinping's announcement at the United Nations in September that China would take a series of concrete measures to contribute to global development, Wang added.

He emphasized that China is "an active participant" that coordinates with other countries in the international community.

Wang Fan, vice-president of the China Foreign Affairs University, said the view of China's international status was "objective on the whole".

Last year, China assumed a more active role in addressing major global issues, including climate change, the Iran nuclear issue and the situation in Syria, Wang said. For example, China has been pushing for negotiations to address the conflict in Syria via a reasoned approach to a complicated issue where "the interests of powers are interwoven", he said.

However, Shi Yinhong, a professor at the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China, said the participants' views may be "naive", adding that China's growing global influence has been accompanied by rising challenges, including slowing economic growth, the South China Sea issue and the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.

Regarding security matters, the respondents viewed Russia as China's most important partner.

Given a choice of 19 countries or regions, nearly half of the participants said Russia was China's "most important security partner", followed by Pakistan. Russia and Pakistan also won more plaudits than other countries or regions for being "the friendliest" to China.

About 87 percent said they were "satisfied" with the relationship between China and Russia.

China's relations with Germany, Britain and France also ranked high, with more than 80 percent saying they were satisfied with the situation. On the other hand, the Sino-Japanese relationship was regarded as the least satisfactory, with fewer than 26 percent of respondents voicing satisfaction.

Feng Yujun, a senior researcher in Russian studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said China and Russia have been "cooperating closely" in security matters.

Unlike China's relations with the United States and Japan, China and Russia do not have "obvious disagreements", nor do they have "unsolved historical problems, including issues over territory or borders", Feng said.

However, economic ties between China and Russia should be strengthened, according to Feng: "Economic cooperation still lies at the foundation of the bilateral relationship. It should be consolidated."

The military parade in Beijing on Sept 3 scored highest in the category, "Most impressive moment of Chinese diplomacy in 2015".

Asked to choose three "impressive moments" or fewer from 14 diplomatic events last year, more than 50 percent of participants chose the military parade, held in Beijing to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, which was attended by leaders from a number of countries.

The World Internet Conference held in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province in December won the backing of more than 40 percent of respondents.

The Republic of Korea was the top choice for more than 23 percent of participants who plan to visit natural scenic destinations or historic and cultural sites overseas this year.