MOSCOW - A recent poll showed that most of Russians see China as the country's closest ally, the Sputnik news agency reported Thursday.

The survey released Monday by Public Opinion Foundation, a Russian polling institute, showed that 62 percent of respondents in the survey viewed China as Russia's closest ally and best friend, up 8 percent over the past three years.

The respondents valued China's role in the development of the Russian economy most, according to the poll. Among them, 48 percent said bilateral cooperation is most important for the Russian economy and 22 percent thought the two peoples have a lot in common so that they can easily find common ground and reach mutual understanding.

In term of the reasons behind China's importance to Russia, 33 percent of respondents thought that China is a rapidly developing country with great economic potential, and a quarter thought Russia and China enjoy close cooperation on their economies and huge trade volumes.