Global supermarkets conquer China in its first 10 years as WTO member

China's entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO) a decade ago opened the floodgates to foreign investment in a variety of areas, but the retailing sector is surely the most potent symbol of how foreign businesses have come, competed and conquered on the levelling field.

The days have long gone when neighborhood shop keepers would man their counters, ready to dispense to customers whatever their little shops would hold, and when buyers had to go to separate places for groceries, electronics and other products.