An artist promotes Peking Opera at Times Square in New York City in August. China's national image is improving, a recent survey found. Wang Lei / Xinhua

China's national image has been improving over the past few years, with President Xi Jinping becoming a highlight, according to a survey report.

The global survey, based on 4,500 respondents from nine countries last year, found that China's overall image has been increasingly recognized by the global community.

"More people in the nine countries are convinced of China's future robust economic growth," Wang Gangyi, vice-president of China International Publishing Group, said of China's National Image Global Survey 2014, which was released in Beijing on Wednesday.

The nine countries - the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, South Africa, India, Russia, Brazil and China - represent different geographic regions and stages of economic development.

The average score of China's national image in 2014 was 5.9 on a scale of 1 to 10, up from the previous year's 5.1, according to the study conducted by the Center for International Communication Studies of China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration, Millward Brown and Lightspeed GMI.

President Xi Jinping is a highlight of the survey, according to Wang.

The survey found that Xi was the fourth best-known among the leaders of the nine countries, with 70 percent of the respondents having heard of him, after US President Barack Obama (97 percent), Russian President Vladimir Putin (91 percent) and British Prime Minister David Cameron (86 percent).

"Xi's handling of both domestic and international affairs has won high praise. He ranks second, after newly elected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for his capability of handling domestic and international affairs," he said.

Overseas respondents are divided about China's global image.