But analysts warn that the spurt may be short-lived unless North America and Europe significantly raise their level of imports from the Asian giant. According to official government figures, China's exports were down 15.2% in September from a year earlier. The good news in this is that forecasters had anticipated a 21% drop.

Nonetheless, the year-over-year decline represented bad news for US and European investors, who in recent years had poured a lot of capital into building large distribution centers, the majority of which served primarily as way stations for Chinese manufactured goods that were wending their way to overseas markets. Though more recent construction had included a sizable number of buildings aimed at meeting China's internal distribution needs, the global economic downturn ate into tenancy at domestic distribution centers as well.

Last December, ProLogis, was forced to sell its China developments at a substantial loss to GIC Real Estate, the property investment arm of the Government of Singapore Investment Corp. Though the Denver-based REIT vowed to invest another $1 billion in China's first- and second-tier cities over this year and next, so far it has made no moves to do so.