Background
French was born in the London Borough of Enfield and went to Raglan Junior School and Edmonton County School, North London.
French was born in the London Borough of Enfield and went to Raglan Junior School and Edmonton County School, North London.
He gained an The Master of Philosophy from the University of Glasgow and studied Chinese at the City Literary Institute.
After university French worked briefly for Time Out magazine in London before co-founding the London, Shanghai and Kuala Lumpur based independent research firm Access Asia that specialises in analysing Chinese consumer and retail markets. In September 2011 Access Asia was acquired by the London based market research company Mintel. French is a regular columnist for the China Economic Quarterly and the China Economic Review as well as being a regular columnist for and the China Editor of Ethical Corporation Magazine.
In 2011 French launched the Asian Arguments series of books for Zed Booksacting as the Series Editor.
French is also the author of the blog China Rhyming: A gallimaufry of random China history and research interests.
He is also a former board member of the Shanghai Foreign Correspondents Club and a member of the of Korea Research Hub (KRH) based within Leeds and Sheffield universities. French is also a member of the editorial advisory board for Anthem Press’s ‘China in the Twenty First Century’ series and the Honorary Research and Publications Director for the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland – China Branch.