Since taking the helm at CMB Jinhe Life Insurance in November 2025, Huang Zhiwei has been visibly active in public engagements. He attended and witnessed the company's signing ceremony with iFlytek Healthcare, led a team to meet with the management of Liaoning Port Group and China Merchants Taiping Bay, signed strategic cooperation agreements, and inaugurated the Renhe Family Health Station.
In contrast, Wang Ying, who officially became Chairman of CMB-CIGNA Life Insurance in December 2025, has maintained a lower public profile with fewer external activities. Both Huang and Wang assumed leadership of their respective platforms within the "China Merchants Group" life insurance system at roughly the same time.
Huang Zhiwei, aged 51, is a seasoned professional manager with over 20 years of experience in the life insurance sector. Wang Ying, on the other hand, is a senior executive from the CM BANK system, having served as the head of multiple branch offices and currently holding the position of Vice President of the bank, with a long-term focus on retail banking.
CMB Jinhe Life Insurance and CMB-CIGNA Life Insurance both belong to the China Merchants Group family, but their controlling entities and governance structures differ. CMB Jinhe Life Insurance is controlled by China Merchants Group through its financial holding company, with joint shareholders including China Mobile and China TravelSky. In contrast, CMB-CIGNA Life Insurance is a 50-50 Sino-foreign joint venture between CM BANK and Cigna Health Life.
These two insurers have different developmental histories, significant size disparities, and distinct operational management styles. CMB-CIGNA Life Insurance was established in August 2003 and has operated for over 20 years, while CMB Jinhe Life Insurance, founded in 2016, is deeply integrated with CM BANK's national retail network and is in a rapid expansion phase.
As of the end of 2025, CMB-CIGNA Life Insurance had total assets of RMB 257.39 billion, while CMB Jinhe Life Insurance's total assets exceeded RMB 100 billion for the first time, reaching RMB 108.768 billion. The asset gap between the two stood at RMB 148.622 billion. In terms of profitability in 2025, CMB-CIGNA Life Insurance achieved a net profit of RMB 3.312 billion, up 517.91% year-on-year. CMB Jinhe Life Insurance posted a net profit of RMB 678 million, a 419.22% increase from the prior year.
Strategically, CMB-CIGNA Life Insurance is pursuing a health-focused strategy, while CMB Jinhe Life Insurance is using its "Renhe Family" health stations as a primary entry point to build an integrated health-plus-insurance comprehensive service platform. In 2025, CMB Jinhe Life Insurance completed the construction of 162 "Renhe Family" health stations under the China Merchants Group umbrella, covering 93 enterprises including China Merchants Group, China Mobile, and Genertec, as well as 25 cities.
In a similar vein, both CMB-CIGNA Life Insurance and CMB Jinhe Life Insurance are undergoing concurrent management reshuffles. In March of this year, CMB-CIGNA Life Insurance's General Manager, Chang Ying, departed, and Deputy General Manager Liu Jun assumed the role of interim leader.
Simultaneously, CMB-CIGNA Life Insurance decided to appoint Li Gongzheng as its new General Manager and CEO. As of now, Li's appointment is still pending regulatory approval. Li, born in the 1970s, is an executive who rose through the ranks within the CM BANK system. He has held positions including Assistant General Manager and Deputy General Manager of the Human Resources Department at the bank's headquarters, Party Committee Member and Deputy President of the Tianjin Branch, General Manager of the Interbank Client Department at headquarters, Deputy President of the Shenzhen Branch, and President of the Nanchang Branch.
On the other side, CMB Jinhe Life Insurance has also gained a new Deputy Party Secretary. Recently, the company's official website updated its senior management list, showing that Hu Bin assumed the role of Deputy Party Secretary in March 2026, while former Chief Actuary Fei Huafeng has exited the executive ranks. Hu Bin has extensive experience in the financial sector. He began his career at Bank of China and Moody's Investors Service before joining the China Merchants Group, where he held positions including Chief Economist and Deputy General Manager of China Merchants Financial Group, Executive Member of the China Merchants Financial Business Group, and Deputy General Manager of China Merchants Venture Capital.
Since Huang Zhiwei was approved as Chairman, he has also been acting as General Manager for over eight months. The addition of Hu Bin is expected to alleviate some of the pressure on Huang.
Both CMB-CIGNA Life Insurance and CMB Jinhe Life Insurance have made significant breakthroughs in their executive selections. Once Li Gongzheng's qualifications are approved, CMB-CIGNA Life Insurance's long-standing model of being managed by external professional managers will come to an end. Meanwhile, the appointment of Hu Bin as a full-time Deputy Party Secretary marks the first time such a position has been created since CMB Jinhe Life Insurance was established.
Regarding compensation, the highest remuneration for directors, supervisors, and senior management at CMB-CIGNA Life Insurance is higher than that at CMB Jinhe Life Insurance. Solvency reports show that in 2025, 10 directors, supervisors, and senior executives at CMB-CIGNA Life Insurance received compensation in the range of RMB 1 million to RMB 5 million, with the highest annual compensation exceeding RMB 3 million. In comparison, seven directors, supervisors, and senior executives at CMB Jinhe Life Insurance received compensation in the same range, with the highest annual compensation being RMB 2.66 million.
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