The year after China joined the WTO, Walmart, the American discount retailing giant, moved its global procurement center to the Chinese boomtown of Shenzhen, relying on surrounding factories to fill its stores with thousands of items, from electronics and Christmas ornaments to office furniture and tools. As Walmart’s sales grew, its stock price soared, turning its founders, the Walton family, into the richest clan in the United States, boasting a fortune estimated at more than $136 billion.
