OTTAWA -- Canada's most important global concern by a long shot is the environment, Canadians say in a sweeping survey done for the department of foreign affairs and international trade.

While they name the United States as the most important country to our foreign policy, China now occupies almost the same standing in the minds of those polled.

The annual survey asks more than 2,000 people about international priorities and how well foreign affairs is doing its job.

While the environment has ranked as the top international concern for three years, its global status is expanding among Canadians. In 2005, 21% cited it, but that figure had doubled to 42% by 2007.

War in general ranked as the second most-important issue in 2007, identified by 9%, while terrorism ranked third with 6%.

The United States, our biggest trading partner, was deemed the most important country to Canada by 21%, but China, at 18%, was crowding it.

"This finding signals that Canadians have recognized that China is becoming an increasingly important player on the world stage," says the survey.

The continuing strong focus on the global environment is good news for the federal Liberals, who have focused on a "green" policy at home.

But there is good news for the Harper government too. Since the Conservatives came to power, Canada's overall relationship with the U.S. has been seen as positive.

In 2006, 74% thought Canada-U.S. relations were good, and in 2007, 79% felt that way. Under the previous government, most thought the relationship was poor.

When Canadians were given a list of possible priorities that did not include the environment, one-quarter chose sovereignty over the Arctic as their top issue.

Meanwhile, two-thirds thought foreign affairs' consular officers -- the people who assist Canadians abroad -- were doing a good job.

Consular bureaucrats have recently come under fire by supporters of some Canadians imprisoned abroad, such as Brenda Martin, held in Mexico, and Michael Kapoustin, held in Bulgaria, for not doing enough to secure their freedom.

The telephone survey of 2,032 adults, conducted by Environics in December 2007 and January 2008, is considered accurate to within plus or minus 2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.