Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba Group Holding and JD.com reported record user participation and growing sales during the 618 shopping festival, as government subsidies and new artificial intelligence (AI) tools fuelled a surge in consumer activity. More than 453 brands each surpassed 100 million yuan (US$14 million) in gross merchandise value (GMV) on Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall platforms during the weeks-long event, the company said on Thursday. The roster included global names such as Apple,...