In a global economy unsettled by the patchiness of the US recovery and European financial turmoil, China would appear to be the one place in the world no one needs to worry about.

Appearances may be deceiving.

While China's efforts to rein in real-estate speculation have alleviated fears it might be overheating, experts say other issues -- from wage inflation to continued currency controls to a new "Buy China" push -- are turning the world's third-largest economy into another source of potential trouble for the foreign companies that do business there.