Singles Day shows strength of consumption

Singles Day has broken all records. Chinese consumers and e-commerce signal not just continued resilience but evident strength. By Monday midnight, the new record soared to 268.4 billion yuan ($38.3 billion) - 25 percent higher than last year.

Despite the continuing - and misleading - international headlines about China's "slowing economy" and "consumption collapse", Alibaba's 11th Singles Day sales gala generated more revenue than the US' Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.

The Singles Day shopping festival is not just the world's largest of its kind. It is also a vital barometer of Chinese consumption amid the United States-triggered tariff wars.