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Is the WTO bringing "wolves" to devour China, or is it a license for the nation to print new money?

Describing foreign companies as "wolves" waiting to attack the Chinese market, some domestic firms were nervous about China's membership in the global trade bloc.

Why? They argued some sectors in China were too weak to compete with their international counterparts, which were more efficient, given their decades of experience.

So where are the "wolves?"

Foreign firms have entered, or are entering, most of China's industrial sectors, but they are not "wolves."

Government statistics indicate China's gross domestic product, driven by fast-growing exports, has maintained its high growth rate during the past two years.

China has even surpassed the United States to become the world's top destination for foreign direct investments.

Multinational business ventures in China, especially those with Chinese partners, are playing major roles in China's foreign trade.

Agriculture, often described by economists as the most vulnerable sector in post-WTO China, has not come under attack by highly competitive overseas rivals.

Many Chinese companies now realize the nation clinched a win-win deal with the WTO.

US manufacturers are now complaining, perhaps too much, about the number of Chinese imports flooding the US market. They argue China's high-quality but less-expensive goods have led to massive job losses in their sector.

But win-win deals are two-edged swords. The WTO-entry deal could hurt Chinese businesses if they fail to prepare for unexpected commercial challenges.

Earlier this month, Metro Cash & Carry Chairman Hans-Joachim Korber announced the German retailer will open 40 outlets across China by 2005.

Four of those stores will be in Beijing, the nation's capital.

China is a promising market that offers Western companies great business opportunities, Korber said.

Eying China's huge market, which has more than 1.3 billion potential customers, big firms -- such as Wal-Mart, of the United States; France's Carrefour and Leroy Merlin and Auchan; German firm OBI; Britain's B&Q; Spanish DIA; Japan's 7-Eleven; and Ek Chor Lotus of Thailand -- are heading en masse to China.

The big firms -- licking their chops as they eye their Chinese counterparts -- are counting down the days before they will be allowed to acquire control of Chinese firms and expand their presence in China.

China's retailers, although acknowledging there will be fierce competition, now have a mild reaction when asked for their thoughts about the influx of these foreign firms.

Chinese retailers say there is plenty of room for domestic firms, as overseas retailers receive just a fraction of the sales revenues.

Some domestic firms, used to China's culture that dates back several millennia, might try to ignore the fact they are now facing white-hot competition with foreign businesses.

A recent report released by the Beijing Municipal Statistics Bureau indicated Chinese supermarkets and chain stores in Beijing were "small, inefficient, poorly funded and scattered without proper plans."

Zhang Hongwei, vice-chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, recently said nearly 80 percent of the China's more than 300 foreign-funded retailers do not have Ministry of Commerce approval to operate in the country.

When China clinched the WTO-entry agreement two years ago, it agreed to open its retail market to foreign companies in four years.

The door to that sector was pushed open, two years ahead of schedule, by impatient foreign firms.

Now, China's companies must rise up, meet the challenge head on and prove they can adapt and compete with these overseas rivals.

While they flex their muscles and fight to prevent their ouster from China's coastal cities, domestic firms must also seize opportunities to merge with or acquire overseas companies to expand overseas.