- Record conference participation
- Offshore investment pilot goes live
- Lingang cluster effect strengthens
1. Record Participation, Sustained Global Attention
On the afternoon of October 28, the opening ceremony of the 2026 Shanghai International Reinsurance Conference was held at the Lingang Xinchen International Conference Center. Under the theme “Working Together to Build an Ecosystem,” the event attracted reinsurance institutions, regulators and industry experts from nearly 40 countries and regions, with participation reaching a record high. Shanghai Vice Mayor He Qing and Yin Jiangao, Director of the Property Insurance Department of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, attended and delivered remarks.
Since its debut in 2019, the conference has grown into an important venue for consultation and cooperation across the global reinsurance value chain and a landmark annual event for building Shanghai into an international reinsurance center. The record turnout this year shows sustained global interest in Shanghai’s reinsurance hub. Reinsurance is a trust-intensive industry, and the number and level of participating institutions are important indicators of market confidence.
2. The Offshore Investment Pilot: Opening a Global Allocation Channel
At the opening ceremony, the Shanghai Municipal Financial Office, the Shanghai Regulatory Bureau of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, the Shanghai Head Office of the People’s Bank of China and the Shanghai Branch of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange jointly released the Implementation Measures for the Pilot Program on Overseas Investment Facilitation of Cross-Border Reinsurance Inward Business Income. The policy, known in the industry as “foreign risks, foreign investment,” has thus entered practical operation. PICC P&C, CPIC P&C, Ping An P&C and China Re P&C, as the first batch of pilot institutions, together with three partner banks—ICBC, Bank of China and China Construction Bank—and the reinsurance trading center, jointly launched the first batch of pilot work.
Cross-border reinsurance inward business refers to domestic insurers assuming offshore risks and collecting premiums from overseas insurers. It is an important way for China’s reinsurance market to participate in global risk diversification. The key breakthrough of this pilot is that net income from cross-border reinsurance inward business, formed through on-exchange transactions completed by pilot institutions and their branches via the reinsurance trading center, may be invested overseas in accordance with the regulatory rules governing overseas investment of insurance funds.
This means the channel for global allocation of funds held by domestic insurers is now open, which will help Shanghai complete the loop from “covering global risks” to “allocating assets globally.” For institutions, it broadens global asset allocation channels and enriches strategy options for duration management, cost-return matching and exchange rate risk prevention, helping improve capital efficiency and asset-liability management. For the market, it will incentivize domestic insurers to expand cross-border inward reinsurance, enhancing their international competitiveness while improving risk protection for companies going global and for Belt and Road cooperation. Relevant parties stated that a joint working mechanism will be established to advance the pilot in an orderly manner.
3. Annual Certification for the Lingang Functional Zone
The event also featured the 2026 annual certification ceremony for the International Reinsurance Functional Zone in Lingang. PICC P&C Shanghai Reinsurance Operation Center, CPIC P&C Shanghai Reinsurance Operation Center and Generali China Insurance Shanghai Reinsurance Operation Center received the “Special Contribution Award”; China Life P&C Shanghai Reinsurance Operation Center received the “Outstanding Contribution Demonstration Award”; and Ping An P&C Shanghai Reinsurance Operation Center received the “Platform Contribution Pioneer Award.”
The award list shows that the zone now covers PICC, CPIC, Ping An, China Life and Generali, with operation centers as the dominant form. This aligns with Lingang’s positioning of anchoring reinsurance operating functions. The offshore investment facilitation policy responds to global expectations for China’s opening-up and provides policy support for the zone to attract more cross-border business.
Conclusion: Implications for Private Enterprises
Reinsurance has practical implications for private enterprises. First, as cross-border inward reinsurance expands, companies going global gain more domestic channels to assume overseas risks, and private firms expanding along the Belt and Road can proactively explore reinsurance solutions. Second, the clustering of the Lingang reinsurance zone will nurture brokerage, actuarial and risk management services, creating entry points for private firms in related fields. Third, the shift from “covering global risks” to “allocating assets globally” signals continued breakthroughs in cross-border capital facilitation in Lingang. Such institutional opening dividends typically benefit ecosystem participants first and spill over to real-economy firms later. Lingang’s institutional innovation merits continued attention.
Source: Lingang Special Area Administration (lingang.gov.cn)