Until now, the government has discouraged strikes and censored reports about labor unrest, apparently out of fear that the reports could fuel other strikes and lead to social unrest. But in the last few weeks, there have been reports  some in state newspapers  of several large strikes around the country.

This week, for instance, a local government-controlled union in the city of Shenyang has been negotiating with KFC, the fast-food giant, to secure a nearly 30 percent raise for workers.

Last Sunday, in another action, about 500 workers at Merry Electronics, a Taiwan-owned components maker, held a walkout that the company said was over a work dispute. Later that day, the company announced a 22 percent pay increase, though a spokesman said the raise was unrelated to the strike.

Many economists say Chinese workers are gaining clout and that the country’s low-cost manufacturing model is facing new strains.

Some analysts are arguing that the sharp rise in manufacturing wages could be a new lure to many workers from the inland provinces who have lately figured they could make just as much at home. And yet, wages in many provinces have been rising 10 to 20 percent. So it is hard to predict how much employers in southern China might eventually have to raise pay to offset labor shortages in their factories.

Many foreign companies have extensive manufacturing or production operations in China that potentially could be vulnerable to the same sort of plant-by-plant labor unrest playing out for Honda. That includes the auto companies Daimler-Benz, Ford and General Motors, and also Coca-Cola and PepsiCo.

Some economists disagree that a major labor shift is under way, though, saying recent signs of worker unrest do not mean China’s development model will rapidly change.