The 2026 Financial Street Forum Annual Meeting officially kicked off. Ding Xiangqun, Director of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, delivered a keynote speech, offering key insights on financial risk prevention and control, industry reform and transformation, opening up of finance, and the development of tech insurance. Several initiatives directly shape the future direction of the insurance sector, including amendments to the Insurance Law, stricter "live high-voltage" regulatory enforcement, moving away from size-obsession, and the inaugural Tech Insurance Conference—emerging as core signals closely watched by the insurance industry.
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Strengthen regulatory effectiveness and weave a tighter risk protection network for the insurance industry.
Enhancing regulatory effectiveness is the fundamental guarantee for the steady and long-term development of the banking and insurance sectors. The speech emphasized that we must remain steadfast in pursuing financial development with Chinese characteristics, comprehensively strengthen "the five major types of regulation," and build a robust barrier for financial security through rigorous oversight.
✅ Uphold risk-oriented principles and maintain the industry's risk threshold
The banking and insurance sectors are operating steadily overall. Large institutions maintain robust performance, while reforms and risk mitigation efforts for smaller and medium-sized entities are progressing in an orderly manner, with risks remaining under control.
Financial risks are often hidden and complex; regulation will enhance the foresight and precision of risk prevention. Focus on key areas to proactively address risk resolution, safely handling high-risk institutions through measures such as mergers and acquisitions and market exits. Bring all financial activities under regulatory oversight in accordance with the law to achieve comprehensive coverage without exceptions, and crack down severely on all forms of illegal financial activities.
✅ Accelerate amendments to insurance law to make regulation a "live high-voltage line." Financial security relies on systems; financial order depends on the rule of law. Significant progress is being made in enacting and amending financial laws, including the Banking Supervision Law and Insurance Law.
Establish rules and enforce them simultaneously, rigorously investigate key individuals, critical incidents, and essential behaviors that cause major financial risks. Strengthen rigid constraints to enhance deterrence, ensuring regulatory frameworks become "live high-voltage lines."
Address emerging challenges such as third-party partnerships with institutions and new internet finance models, continuously strengthen regulatory frameworks, and fortify institutional safeguards.
✅ Enhance modern regulatory capabilities and implement effective穿透式 (transparency-based) supervision. Strengthen monitoring and early warning systems, optimize risk-based classification and tiered supervision, enforce mandatory early corrective actions, and achieve continuous end-to-end oversight. Adhere to the principle of "substance over form" to standardize the conduct of shareholders and senior executives, while strengthening transparency-based supervision of related-party transactions and large-scale investments. Simultaneously, leverage digital and technological tools to expand the regulatory toolkit and continuously improve the quality and efficiency of supervision.
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Drive reform and transformation to guide the insurance industry toward high-quality development.
The times call for the banking and insurance sectors to accelerate transformation and upgrading, move away from extensive expansion, and better serve the broader economic and social landscape through high-quality development.
🔹 Optimize the institutional landscape to ensure each player fulfills its role effectively. Insurance institutions should leverage their unique positioning, capabilities, and strengths to clarify business boundaries and pursue differentiated development. Regulators will enhance performance evaluation systems with a focus on differentiation, promoting quality improvement and strategic downsizing for smaller institutions tailored to local market conditions.
🔹 Tackle Unfair Competition, Move Beyond "Size Obsession" Fair competition is the foundation of healthy industry growth. Following the implementation of "reporting and pricing integration" and multiple rounds of targeted governance, market chaos has been curbed. However, unfair competition remains persistent and prone to recurrence.
Urge institutions to move beyond a fixation on scale, strictly address non-compliant marketing practices, and severely crack down on financial black and gray market activities. Clearly define the boundaries of competition and establish sound operational standards.
🔹 Insurance coverage continues to expand, delivering multi-dimensional support for national economy and people's livelihood. Data shows: In the first three quarters of this year, insurance payouts approached 2 trillion yuan, demonstrating the continued release of insurance's risk protection function. Regulators have called for ongoing optimization of insurance supply:
Strengthen the disaster insurance system to address risks from extreme weather and natural disasters; expand shipping insurance capabilities to support international trade growth; diversify pension and health insurance offerings to meet public needs for comprehensive coverage and advance China's Healthy Nation initiative.
Simultaneously guide insurance funds toward new quality productive forces, advanced manufacturing, and major infrastructure construction, and effectively deliver on the five key areas of financial work.
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Persist in high-level opening-up, with the insurance sector deeply integrated into global markets.
China continues to expand institutional opening-up in the financial sector and welcomes foreign institutions to develop here. Foreign firms are encouraged to leverage their expertise in wealth management, pension and health services, and green finance to participate in domestic pilot programs. Chinese insurers are supported in enhancing cross-border services to help maintain stability in global industrial and supply chains. China is actively engaging in global financial governance, addressing regulatory challenges posed by emerging technologies like AI, refining rules for digital finance, and building an open and inclusive global financial governance system.
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Tech Insurance Takes Center Stage at First-Ever Insurance Summit
Beijing is accelerating its development as an international center for science and technology innovation. Regulators are calling for a multi-tiered tech finance system, with insurance playing an increasingly vital role in driving technological innovation.
Strengthen the specialized co-insurance consortium for technology insurance. Support the formation of specialized co-insurance consortia in key sectors such as commercial aerospace, biomedicine, and intelligent robotics. Deliver comprehensive technology insurance services covering the entire enterprise lifecycle and value chain to safeguard major national scientific missions. The forum will host its inaugural Insurance Summit, focusing on the theme of technology insurance.
The Insurance Summit will be held for the first time during this forum, with Technology Insurance as the opening theme. We welcome insights from all sectors.
Build a financial ecosystem tailored to innovation and technology. Establish a prudent yet inclusive regulatory framework for tech finance, enhance third-party evaluation and financial arbitration services, safeguard the bottom line of tech finance security, and support Beijing in becoming a world-class source of technological innovation.
