Maybe I'm making a mountain out of a molehill, maybe it's just a numbers game, but Shanghai's gross domestic product growth rate of 10.3 percent in the first half of 2008 is below China's national average of 10.4 percent.

Yes, the discrepancy is small. Yes, maybe other regions inflated their numbers.

But, Shanghai has, since 1992, maintained double-digit annual growth rates, which were always higher than nationalwide averages, financial magazine Caijing pointed out.

During the first six months, the securities industry made zero no contribution to Shanghai's GDP growth, and the real estate industry dragged the overall growth, the Caijing article also said.

Figures from the Shanghai government show a decline of investment in city infrastructure and industrial projects.

Where is Shanghai headed? Should we pull out of that market?

Not yet. On the flip side, Shanghai's export growth rate is still climbing, thanks to aggressive expansion into markets outside of North America and Europe -- Japan, Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa. The strategy of global diversification may spare China from being hit hard by the economic downturns in the West.