At the opening of the 2026 Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai on June 17, Ding Xiangqun, head of the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), made her inaugural appearance at the event, delivering clear regulatory messages on several fronts under the forum's theme of "Financial Development and Cooperation under the Global Governance Initiative: New Vision, New Challenges, and New Opportunities."
In a speech focused on strengthening regulatory support, Ding noted that Shanghai's status as an international financial center has been consistently elevated, with its financial agglomeration capacity and global influence steadily increasing. She stated that the regulator is optimizing policies to facilitate high-level openness, including jointly issuing measures to accelerate the construction of the Shanghai International Reinsurance Center and vigorously promoting international marine insurance cooperation.
The concept of the Shanghai International Reinsurance Center is not new to the insurance industry. After a preliminary incubation phase, its development entered a new stage of accelerated progress starting in 2024. That year, the NFRA and the Shanghai Municipal Government jointly released the "Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Construction of the Shanghai International Reinsurance Center," which outlined new objectives and measures for the center's development in the new era.
Moving into 2025, the "Action Plan for Supporting the Construction of Shanghai as an International Financial Center," issued by the NFRA and the Shanghai Municipal Government, explicitly called for vigorously advancing the development of the Shanghai International Reinsurance Center and marine insurance.
It is noteworthy that following Ding Xiangqun's opening address titled "Implementing the Global Governance Initiative and Deepening International Regulatory Cooperation" at the 2026 Lujiazui Forum, the NFRA released information indicating that over the past year, within the framework established by the Action Plan, it has continuously introduced robust measures and achieved significant results. The NFRA has vigorously promoted the construction of the Shanghai International Reinsurance Center, with the agglomeration effect of institutions becoming increasingly evident, a reinsurance market ecosystem taking initial shape, and market development progressing steadily. As of May 2026, 26 reinsurance-related institutions have been established in the Lingang area, and 164 institutions have registered with the trading center. In 2025, the transaction premium volume at the Shanghai International Reinsurance Registration and Exchange Center exceeded 10 billion yuan, with registered premiums surpassing 150 billion yuan.
The NFRA has also proposed supporting the deepening development of the Shanghai International Reinsurance Center. It plans to jointly issue further measures with the Shanghai Municipal Government to support the center's high-quality development.
Zhu Shaojie, an insurance department expert at Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, believes the successive release of related support policies is driven by several factors. On one hand, domestic marine insurance underwriting capacity is limited, creating significant demand for ceding risks related to the shipping industry chain overseas. By leveraging the construction of the Shanghai International Reinsurance Center to strengthen international marine insurance cooperation and enhance Chinese insurers' operational capabilities in marine insurance, it will facilitate the development of Shanghai as an international shipping center and empower the construction of Shanghai as an international financial center.
On the other hand, it can promote participation in formulating international marine insurance operational rules and advance institutional financial openness. Zhu further explained that the shipping industry is undergoing a transformation towards new models like smart and green shipping, which creates space for innovation and development in marine insurance. As the world's largest goods trading nation, China has the opportunity to elevate its international standing in marine insurance, develop Chinese versions of marine insurance clauses, data exchange standards, and digital service specifications, thereby changing the current reliance on international insurance clauses and strengthening its voice in financial rule-making.
Against a backdrop of frequent geopolitical conflicts, extreme weather events, and trade frictions, cross-border risks facing China's ocean shipping, overseas infrastructure projects, and international business operations are increasing. Based on this, Zhu stated that using international marine insurance as a vehicle for cooperation can strengthen international reinsurance transaction links, establishing Shanghai as a central node in the global risk protection network. This would also help safeguard overseas operational risks, support stable foreign trade development, and contribute to the nation's high-level opening-up.
Beyond mentioning the reinsurance center, in the context of strengthening regulatory guidance and providing precise, pragmatic services for high-quality economic and social development, Ding Xiangqun emphasized focusing on promoting the development of new quality productive forces. She mentioned continuously improving the full-cycle technology finance service system, strengthening financing support and insurance protection, and directing financial resources towards emerging and future industries.
Strengthening insurance protection in the technology finance sector holds value in multiple areas. Guo Tao, an angel investor and senior artificial intelligence expert, believes that enhancing tech-finance insurance protection has multiple positive effects on the innovation industry, the financial ecosystem, and the transformation of the insurance sector. At the industry development level, it will compel insurance institutions to venture into emerging sectors, innovate specialized insurance products, establish professional underwriting teams, and leverage the long-term investment advantages of insurance funds to empower technological innovation. This achieves a dual development effect of upgrading services on the liability side and enhancing investment efficiency on the asset side.
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