The world is now flat, at least, for consumers

Seeing is believing. Should visiting US President Donald Trump have extended his stay in China a little longer, he would have been able to witness the unbelievable avalanche of online shopping orders that Chinese consumers will make during the Singles Day sales bonanza, which starts on Nov 11.

This online shopping festival, created and popularized by the country's e-giants in recent years, is seen by many as China's version of Black Friday.

Last year, Alibaba's Tmall alone notched up record sales of 120.7 billion yuan, about $18 billion on that magic day.