Wal-Mart, the US retail group known for fending off organised labour in its home market, has completed collective bargaining agreements with unions in two Chinese cities.

The agreements reached with government-approved unions in Shenyang and Quanzhou come less than two years after the official All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) launched a high-profile campaign to organise workers, and mark a new chapter in the development of China's labour movement.