Paris - By a significant margin, the French believe that China has supplanted the United States as the most powerful country in the world, according to a survey made public on Monday.

Asked by the TNS-Sofres institute to name the world's most powerful country, nearly half of the respondents said China, while the United States was cited by only 34 per cent.

Asked to name the country that would be the world's leading power in 20 years, 63 per cent said China, 12 per cent said India and a mere 9 per cent cited the United States.

The survey was carried out on October 8 and 9 with a representative sample of 1,000 men and women 18 years of age and older. (dpa)