Tracy Chen, Columnist

Chinese Consumers Now Rule the World. Get Used to It

It's no longer the "world's factory" as Singles' Day blows away Black Friday.

Moving away from exports.

Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
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It’s way past time to stop calling China the world’s factory.

The country is increasingly the world’s consumer. Forget the old investment and export-focused growth model. Even more important is the changing nature of consumption, which no longer revolve around staples: Increasing sums are being plowed into movies, tourism and health care. Investors ignore this seismic shift at their peril.