China reported another sizable monthly trade surplus, with exports exceeding imports by $24.97 billion in August-a surplus outsized only by June's $26.91 billion.

Although export growth slowed somewhat, the strong trade data-along with a 6.5% surge in the consumer-price index in August-underscored how China remains focused on managing fast growth rather than weathering a slowdown.

The trade imbalance has become a symbol of U.S. and European worries about the economic rise of China and the competition from its low-cost producers and has helped focus attention on China's hurdles to foreign trade and investment.

Now, international companies complain that it is already more difficult than it should be to sell their products into China or to invest in local operations.

"I am worried about the direction of the investment climate," said Joerg Wuttke, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, noting a trend toward unequal treatment of foreign companies by regulators and statements by scholars and politicians questioning the value of foreign investment.
"Domestic lobbyists are working very strongly on the Chinese government to make foreign investment more difficult," Mr. Wuttke said.

Although China has opened up much of its economy in recent years after joining the World Trade Organization, considerable restrictions remain on foreign investment in areas including finance, automobile manufacturing, petrochemicals and media, Mr. Wuttke said. Some new regulations on mergers and investments also seem intended to aid domestic companies, he said. Mr. Wuttke argued that such restrictions fuel protectionist sentiment against China abroad, but that China could ease tensions by removing those restrictions.

The top levels of the Chinese leadership insist that the country remains open for business and that its regulatory changes will be in line with international practices.

Questions have nonetheless been raised about how China will apply its new Antimonopoly Law, which provides for national-security reviews of foreign acquisitions of Chinese companies. Foreign-government officials say they hope enforcement of the law will be independent and restrained.

Despite these policy worries, business finds little to complain about in the economic environment in China, which is growing at a rate of more than 11% this year. China has been regularly attracting more than $60 billion a year in foreign direct investment-money that goes to build or acquire operations-making it one of the most popular destinations for business. This year, investment has already totaled $36.93 billion as of the end of July, marking a 13% increase from last year.

"Given this incredible economic-growth pattern, it's extraordinary how little you see in terms of bottlenecks," Mr. Wuttke, the EU chamber official, said.
"There are some manpower shortages," he said, but energy and electricity supplies are generally available, and China's ports are managing to handle the enormous volume of goods without major slowdowns.

That's one reason broad-based inflation hasn't appeared yet in China, outside of the surge in food prices. Prices of pork, China's staple meat, have been surging as disease depletes pig herds, and vegetable prices have also risen recently after summer flooding hit some key agricultural provinces. Yet even though meat prices rose 49% over a year earlier, nonfood inflation continues at a modest 0.9%.

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