Europe Views China As World's Leading Economic Power

China and not the United States is viewed as the world's foremost economic power by Europeans, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center. Back in 2008, before the financial crisis, a European median of 44 percent considered the United States the leading economic powerhouse worldwide. In that year, 29 percent considered China the world's leader.

China raced into the lead for the first time in 2010, and today, it's viewed as the foremost economic power by 49 percent of Europeans compared to 34 percent for the United States. Interestingly, the shift in peception concerns America's premier European allies - France Germany, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom.