Obama, living "American dream," well ahead in China poll

US Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) attends a campaign rally at Bicentennial Park in Miami, Florida, October 21, 2008.

BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama enjoys a support rate as high as 75 percent among the Chinese, state media reported on Thursday, with an analyst saying he personified the American dream.

That is the result of an online poll conducted on the China Daily website by the U.S. embassy. Another survey issued by Horizon Research also showed that Obama was strongly favored in China over his Republican rival, John McCain.

Analysts see China's rapid economic growth and growing political influence in the region as competition for American power in Asia. But the two countries generally enjoy friendly relations, with occasional spats over human rights, trade, food safety and U.S. support for Taiwan, which China considers its own.

In the Horizon survey of 2,791 people from 18 to 60 in seven big cities and seven towns, Obama had an overall advantage of 17.8 percent over McCain.

"Perhaps his age, energy and even complexion, which signify the U.S. dream, are more appealing to the Chinese," Song Zhiyuan, who analysed the survey, told the newspaper.

Obama's lead over McCain had grown to 12 points with crucial independent and women voters increasingly moving to his side, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Thursday.

(Reporting by Liu Zhen; Editing by Nick Macfie)