RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 25 -- The Brazilian media have an overall positive opinion of China, but are also influenced by U.S. and European publications, a Brazilian study said.

The study, carried out by a leading Brazilian public relation company In Press, showed that 77.2 percent of news on Chinese investments and 59 percent of news on China itself are positive.

However, sometimes the press's attitude toward China is influenced by U.S. and European media, some of whose articles with a negative position on China were translated into Portuguese and published on Brazilian websites and newspapers.

In addition, most of people who talked to the local press about China and Brazil-China relations are not Chinese or related to China, which means that the actual Chinese representatives were not listened to, Janaina Silveira, business executive at In Press, said.

He suggested that Chinese experts and business representatives fill the gap and improve people's impression about China.

"If a company does not talk, someone will talk in their place, because the reporter will search other sources to write their story," said Training Director of In Press Sonia Azevedo.