China's Insurance Sector Preparing for WTO EntryChina is stepping up efforts to standardize its insurance market through legal means in order to face up to fiercer competition after the country's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).During a seminar on insurance and financial services opened Monday, over 60 officials and experts from China and the United States exchanged views on the improvement and development of China's financial services and foreign trade laws after its WTO entry, the potential impact on China's insurers, implications for its regulatory system, as well as the opportunities and challenges for foreign and domestic insurers. The two-day seminar is organized by the law schools of the Chinese University of International Business and Economics and the University of Connecticut. Statistics show that China's insurance sector has seen rapid development in the past ten years. In 1999, the sector reported a premium income of 139.3 billion yuan (about 17 billion U.S. dollars). Presently 19 overseas-invested insurers and intermediaries are operating in China, and 113 insurers from 17 countries and regions have opened around 200 representative offices in 14 Chinese cities. |
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