Trump’s tariffs put China’s ecommerce superpowers to the test

The auditorium at Alibaba’s headquarters was packed with attendees, leaning against the wall and squeezing onto the stairs. Hundreds of Chinese small-business owners listened raptly as a stream of representatives from Alibaba, the Chinese online shopping giant, stepped onstage to reassure them of China’s resilience in the face of America’s eye-watering tariffs.