The FT reports:

China has overtaken the US as the biggest threat to global stability in the eyes of Europeans, according to a Harris opinion poll for the Financial Times.

The recent wave of protests and riots in Tibet and the ensuing Chinese crackdown, together with competition from cheap Chinese exports, appear to have dramatically hardened opinion, with the proportion of Europeans who saw China as the biggest threat almost doubling since last year.

The FT/Harris poll, carried out between March 27 and April 8, found an average of 35 per cent of respondents in five European countries saw China as a bigger threat to global stability than any other state. In the US, 31 per cent of respondents also named China, putting it way above Iran and North Korea, which were both perceived as greater threats last year.

The poll was carried out shortly after the unrest in Tibet and during the early stages of the controversial Olympic torch relay. But there were already rising tensions between the European Union and China over trade issues and exchange rates.

To read more:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/89261466-0a79-11dd-b5b1-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1