A leading PR agency released a report last month, ranking countries in terms of how well their multinationals are trusted in foreign countries. In a blow to China’s ambitious overseas plans, China was ranked lower than South Africa and India in foreign markets, although highly in China itself. China-based companies rate particularly low in Germany, France and the US, the survey found. The agency interviewed 5,400 "informed online respondents" in nine developed and emerging countries. Key areas for China- based companies to work on include intellectual property respect, transparency, crisis management and quality of products/services.