BEIJING - Internationally, people are generally positive about China's future development, according to the 2016-2017 China National Image Global Survey released Friday.

Those in developed and developing countries believe that China's international status and global influence will continue to grow, and that China will lead the new round of globalization and contribute more to global governance.

Among the 11,000 surveyed, 33 percent thought that China would become the world's largest economy, a large increase on previous years.

"This shows that the international community has more confidence in China's economic prospects," the survey said.

However, 36 percent say China still faces challenges such as economic disparity and environmental pollution.

Jointly conducted by the Center for International Communication Studies under the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration, and Kantar Millward Brown and Lightspeed, the survey interviewed citizens in 22 countries, with 500 respondents from each country.