Here is some data from two recent surveys about people's attitudes towards China's rise:

UPI/Zogby Poll of American attitudes to China

- 75% of respondents said China is top U.S. economic rival, with Japan coming in a distant second at 14%
- 60% said they view China as an economic threat to the U.S.
- 22% believe China is a threat to U.S. national security
- 6% said they would describe China as an economic partner and an ally

The survey, conducted nationwide from May 16-18, 2007, included 5,141 adult online respondents. You can read a full report on the survey on Zogby's website here.

Chicago Council on Global Affairs and WorldPublicOpinion.org poll

From Newsweek

[This survey was] conducted among 18 countries over the last year and ... finds that a majority of citizens in 8 of 14 countries surveyed expect that China will eventually catch up with the United States economically—and are utterly unconcerned by the prospect. Yet surprisingly, the survey also reveals that a majority or near majority of respondents in most countries don’t trust China to act responsibly beyond its borders. China’s score on trustworthiness is virtually the same as that of the United States, which has seen its popularity slide precipitously since the 1990s.

Some of the results are below. It's interesting that the French respondents, whose government makes far fewer noises about China's rise than that of the U.S., seem to fear China the most, while respondents in Israel, usually accused of being too close to the U.S., seem more confident of China than the U.S. when it comes to acting responsibly.

Do You Trust the United States to Act Responsibly in the World?

No
(Percentage of Respondents Who Answered "No, Not At All" and "No, Not Very Much")
Philippines 85%
Israel 81%
Australia 59%
Poland 51%
Ukraine 49%

Do You Trust China to Act Responsibly in the World?

No
(Percentage of Respondents Who Answered "No, Not At All" and "No, Not Very Much")
France 76%
Peru 70%
Argentina 65%
South Korea 61%
Thailand 59%
United States 58%
Russia 56%
India 49%
Israel 47%
Poland 47%

Yes
(Percentage of Respondents Who Answered "Yes, Somewhat" and " Yes, A Great Deal")
Australia 61%
Indonesia 59%
Philippines 57%
Ukraine 46%
Armenia divided with 46% on each side

The Newsweek article, which includes the results of other questions in the survey, is here. The survey is also on Worldpublicopinion.org's site.