shenzhen, china<u+2014>the online shopping extravaganza known as singles<u+2019> day is one of the year<u+2019>s biggest events in china. yet even singles<u+2019> day was upstaged thursday by u.s. president-elect donald trump. at the annual shopping-eve kickoff, alibaba group holding ltd. executive vice chairman joe tsai briefed reporters on this year<u+2019>s new twist: the ability to shop for goods with virtual-reality technology. but the conversation quickly turned to mr. trump, after a reporter asked mr. tsai what he thought might be the impact of the trump presidency on alibaba and its online retailing empire. mr. trump has said he would seek sweeping tariffs on products made in china to promote u.s. manufacturing, setting the stage for what some analysts say could lead to a trade war. <u+201c>china is going to be and already is the source of consumer demand and the source of capital for america,<u+201d> mr. tsai said. <u+201c>so if you<u+2019>re the american president, you have to pay a lot of attention to that because your job is to create a lot of jobs in american society. and if you don<u+2019>t have chinese consumers being engaged and buying american products, and chinese investors can<u+2019>t invest in the united states, and create more american jobs, then you<u+2019>d be in trouble.<u+201d> mr. trump<u+2019>s election wasn<u+2019>t the only wild card dealt in the run-up to the event. pop star katy perry, scheduled to perform later thursday night during a <u+201c>countdown gala<u+201d> at<u+00a0>60,000-capacity<u+00a0>shenzhen universiade sports center, abruptly canceled her appearance. ms. perry cited a <u+201c>family emergency<u+201d> in an online apology to chinese fans. ms. perry, who had backed democratic presidential nominee hillary clinton, had sent out a stream of angry tweets after the election. <u+201c>gonna cry my false eye lashes off tonight,<u+201d> said one. with ms. perry bowing out, former basketball star kobe bryant and former soccer star david beckham were expected to be the highlights of the countdown show. alibaba<u+2019>s customers are primarily in china, but the company has been seeking to expand in the u.s. and europe. it has also built partnerships with major u.s. brands to sell their products online in china. singles<u+2019> day<u+2014>which takes place on the loneliest of dates, 11-11<u+2014>was started by a group of young single people in china as a cheeky holiday to celebrate lonely hearts. alibaba started using the holiday to promote shopping bargains seven years ago. each year, sales have risen, putting pressure on alibaba to keep the streak alive. to help ensure it tops last year<u+2019>s record of $14.3 billion, alibaba has included hong kong and taiwan in singles<u+2019> day shopping for the first time, and added a larger range of western brands. alibaba has also rolled out a new <u+201c>buy+<u+201d> shopping program that allows consumers to don a virtual-reality headset, enter a virtual store, and snap up bargains with a nod of the head. to give a focus to what is primarily an online event, <u+00a0>alibaba also stages two days of activities here, starting with thursday<u+2019>s countdown show. on friday, alibaba executives and participating merchants have scheduled a day-long series of briefings, product demonstrations and sales updates, culminating in a final data release at midnight. this year<u+2019>s event is also likely to include heightened regulatory scrutiny. alibaba disclosed in may that the u.s. securities and exchange commission was investigating its accounting practices, including how it tallies sales for singles<u+2019> day. the company said it was cooperating with the probe. china<u+2019>s state administration for industry and commerce said this week it has met with alibaba, jd.com and other e-commerce vendors, warning against abusive sales practices. write to eva dou at eva.dou@wsj.com
at alibaba singles<u+2019>-day kickoff event, talk quickly turns to donald trump - wsj
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