When Genghis Khan rampaged across the Asian steppes, the courts of Old Europe barely noticed. This, or something like it, has been the reaction of the US-based powers that dominate the internet to the rise of ecommerce giant Alibaba in the east. Why worry about events in a distant land closed to outsiders, when there are so many other parts of the world to explore and conquer?

With Alibaba preparing for a US stock market listing, this is a mistake. At the margin, Alibaba has already become a competitor for talent and corporate alliances in the heart of Silicon Valley, as shown by recent investments in mobile messaging service Tango and ride-sharing company Lyft.

Super-charged with a superior growth stock valuation, it will be in a strong position to beat Silicon Valley at its own games. At the height of his company’s dispute with big shareholder Yahoo three years ago, Alibaba founder Jack Ma toyed with the idea of simply buying the US company. In future, a deal of that size (about $20bn at the time) would barely warrant a second thought.