Calls for restrictions on foreign investment and the manipulation of technology standards to favor local businesses could push China towards economic nationalism, a US official warned Monday. Underlining the positive implications of rising US exports to China, Franklin Lavin, undersecretary for international trade at the US Department of Commerce, went on to elaborate on long-held US fears about the rise of an interventionist Beijing, the Financial Times reported. It is thought the pressure on China to maintain its rapid economic growth whilst simultaneously fulfilling its commitments to widening market access under WTO accession regulations could turn the government against reform. There is concern that such a move could be fueled by the backlash from conservatives over the last few months against foreign investment in China. Lavin also expressed his doubts about access to the third-generation mobile phone market, with the Chinese regulators likely to force at least one of the state-owned operators to adopt a homegrown 3G standard over technologies favored in the West.