China ETFs Dispel Europe's Economic Gloom

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The financial crisis sweeping through Europe is again dominating headlines and placing a heavy weight on investor shoulders as we progress into the week.

Although the turmoil in Greece, France, Germany and the rest of the euro monetary bloc will steal attention in the days ahead, I encourage investors to avoid being distracted from other events taking place elsewhere around the globe.

While Europe is under a deluge of dismal market-related news, other closely watched global players have actually enjoyed some promising economic data over the past few days.

China, for instance, started off the week on a relatively positive note. For weeks doubts have swirled around this Asian economic superpower as economists, analysts and investors have begun to question its ability to maintain a persistent level of breakneck economic growth. Fears of a hard landing have loomed heavily as nations around the world have witnessed a slowdown in economic growth.

Despite these fears, there have been signs that China's feared hard landing may not be in the cards. On the contrary, at the start of this week the nation released promising trade data, indicated that there is fuel left in its growth tank. According to the report, the nation's imports saw a notable rise, while its overall trade surplus shrank considerably.

The road ahead will likely not be entirely smooth for China. However, as evidenced by this data, it may not be as rocky as previously expected either. ETF investors with a tolerance for risk may want to place China-related funds on the radar.

Already, the ETF investing public appears to be showing an interest in the nation. According to the data compiled by the National Stock Exchange, the iShares FTSE China 25 Index Fund (FXI) welcomed over $350 million in August. This not only earned the fund a spot among the top 25 inflow recipients overall; FXI also saw the heaviest inflows across the entire universe of international equity ETFs.

FXI was not alone in its popularity. Other China-related ETFs like the SPDR S&P China ETF (GXC) enjoyed net inflows as well. This action flies in the face of the general attitude towards emerging markets in August.

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