Last year, China's online retail market grew by 50 per cent, to reach hundreds of millions of online consumers and the equivalent of half a trillion Australian dollars.
That pace is only accelerating.
According to Trade Minister Andrew Robb, that opens up vast possibilities for Australian businesses, of whatever size.
The new deal by Australian wholesaler Metcash, which supplies IGA supermarkets domestically, is an example of the potential of the online market in China to become a huge new market for even the most familiar of Australian products. 
Metcash will sell through Alibaba's online marketplace for international imports, Tmall Global. This online world  means exporters don't require a physical presence in China and avoids the need for complicated quarantine and testing procedures as well as the import taxes  imposed on those selling through conventional bricks-and-mortar stores..
The lure of the online market is obvious in any Chinese city.
Whether it's due to traffic congestion, convenience, greater choice or rising household incomes, the streets are now crowded with couriers, often on electric bicycles, delivering goods that consumers have ordered online. And increasingly, many of those goods are from overseas.
Chinese overall growth figures may be slowing but that is in a much larger economy and pent-up demand from a new middle class to buy ever more goods and services.
In   November last year, ThinkChina, a Sydney based e-commerce data analytics company, studied product searches on Alibaba's online marketplaces where the key word was Australia. The results showed skincare, food and wine and milk powder were the most sought after items. But demand for health supplements is also strong along with, perhaps more surprisingly, Australian shoes and clothing.

Happy to pay premium prices
A recent Austrade report on e-commerce in China says that Chinese consumers have shown a willingness to pay premium prices for quality products.
It noted that luxury brands from Europe and the US had enjoyed tremendous success over the past decade, driven by China's economic rise and a desire for status-affirming products.
"As the middle-income segment and consumer tastes become more nuanced, many shoppers are looking to more modest, unique brands that reflect a buyer's personality and travel history," it says. "This is creating a good market for well-crafted, Australian 'affordable luxury' brands and produces, especially in the lifestyle and fashion segment where well-designed and creative alternatives are increasingly popular."
Most of this market will form part of the thriving cross-border e-commerce culture in China where sales are conservatively estimated to have doubled this year.
The tariffs on many Australian goods sold by more conventional means will be reduced as part of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement. But this won't detract from the zooming growth of an online world targeting individual Chinese consumers who have become far more accessible thanks to the magic of technology.
About 2000 third party e-commerce market places are already licensed in China to handle these cross-border transactions. Goods can be sent as consolidated shipments to bonded warehouses in China or directly from Australia.
"For smaller exporters, online sales can be a cost-effective means to establish a sales footprint in China, particularly for nice products not traditionally available in China," the Austrade report says.
If handled well, Australia's reputation for being "clean and green and safe" is a natural advantage.
None of this guarantees success. There will clearly be many pitfalls, especially for businesses that haven't developed the right branding or marketing or products. But the bright lights of China's e-commerce market suddenly look a lot closer for thousands of Australian retailers.