Benjamin Cavender Benjamin Cavender is a Shanghai based consultant with more than 11 years of experience helping companies understand consumer behavior and develop go to market strategies for China. He is a frequent speaker on economic and consumer trends in China and is often featured on CNBC, Bloomberg, and Channel News Asia.

Op-Ed Blog

China auto industry gradually opening

The last few years have seen a massive shift in China's economy away from an overreliance on exports and investment towards a growth model that is based on consumer spending.

China's Q1 GDP growth strong but slower times ahead

Despite the various indicators that suggest China may see a slowdown in economic activity next quarter, the economy remains resilient and the government is doing a good job of managing expectations.

China-US trade war gets colder

At this stage the tariffs still represent a small percentage of overall trade and typically when economic sanctions like this are taken they are a lead in to negotiation.  But the consequences of an economic cold war could be very bad indeed.  

Deciphering China's economic future

If the government wants to leave China's economy in a significantly stronger place at the end of 2018 it needs to invest further in supporting innovation and in protecting intellectual property.

Shanghai 2035 making a great city even better

 In KPMG's 2017 report on world innovation centers Shanghai was rated as the global city most likely to surpass Silicon Valley as an innovation hub, ahead of New York.  This is due to the strength of the ecosystem that Shanghai has built for innovation.

Key conference setting course for China’s economic ship

Understanding the risks that China's economy faces we will see a continuing shift in policy towards 'quality' economic growth and less emphasis on chasing GDP numbers. 

Showcasing Chinese Internet giants going global

China's World Internet Congress offers a huge chance for Chinese companies to showcase the technology that they have been developing and implementing over the last 12 months and to illustrate just how far internet giants like Alibaba and Tencent have gone in terms of turning China into the world's most innovate internet economy.

China reaffirms support for global trade at APEC forum

Importantly, the different tones set by the US and China at the APEC forum are not simply a war of words but a real indicator of shifting trade-winds and spheres of influence in Asia.