More American opinion leaders view China as the United States' most important partner in Asia given the countries' trade relations, but Japan is considered most trustworthy, a survey by the Japanese Foreign Ministry shows.

Asked to choose "the most important partner of the United States" among Asian and nearby countries, 35% of 200 opinion leaders from a range of fields picked China, 33% chose Japan and 9% Australia. South Korea ranked fourth at 7% in the annual survey.

The percentage of respondents selecting China was up significantly from 18% in the survey a year earlier, while those picking Japan slipped from 42%.