Scaling The Wall With a market of more than 200 million consumers, China is ready for new business.

What country has the world's fastest growing economy? You'd be right if you guessed China. And with a consumer population of approximately 200 million, it's no wonder foreign companies worldwide are scrambling for a piece of the pie.

As you'd probably expect, U.S. small businesses don't intend to be left behind, despite the difficulty of achieving success in this communist nation. A recent U.S. Chamber of Commerce survey spotlighted the trend, concluding that small American companies are big investors in China's economy.

And that should continue, assuming the United States renews China's Most Favored Nation (MFN) trade status this year, next year and beyond. Although it sounds like an agreement of special privilege, 180 countries across the globe hold this nondiscriminatory trade agreement with the United States. But an MFN denial would drastically raise tariffs on Chinese imports and probably cause China to retaliate. Experts fear such a move would severely damage China's economic relationship with the United States.