China's rising technological innovations helped brighten its image overseas last year, according to a report released by Xinhua News Agency on Thursday.

Xinhua gathered 5.2 million overseas online articles and comments from media and social networking services that reflect foreigners' impressions of China.

Technology featured prominently. Of 365,000 items on China's high-speed rail network, the world's largest, nearly 200,000 were deemed positive and more than 111,000 neutral.

Nuclear power won about 164,000 favorable and 78,000 neutral reviews in 301,000 items, while nearly 60 percent of 15,000 items on cloning offered praise.

Chinese Nobel Prize-winning pharmacologist Tu Youyou, who discovered the malaria-fighting drug artemisinin, generated nearly 22,000 mentions, 17,000 positive.

For the Belt and Road Initiative, the regional trade and infrastructure network, about 126,000 of 249,000 items were positive, in addition to 69,000 neutral.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank got about 99,000 positive and 50,000 neutral mentions out of a total 197,000, according to the report.

Meanwhile, overseas media and Internet users showered positive comments on China's UN peacekeeping work, its medical assistance to African nations and withdrawal of nationals from conflict-hit Yemen. For instance, more than 74 percent of 27,000 items about Chinese peacekeeping missions were positive.

Another big focus for overseas commentators was Chinese cuisine, with 54 percent offering praise and 30 percent being neutral out of about 354,000 mentions.

(China Daily 02/19/2016 page5)