INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE COUNCIL - JAN 2001 - IN CHINA
Kevin Cronin met with USTR official
Christina Lund regarding the status of the discussions in Geneva over China's WTO accession. Ms. Lund said that insurance issues will go down to the wire. The unresolved insurance issues are the definition of large-scale commercial risk and the issue of mandatory reinsurance cessions. The Chinese are insisting on mandatory cessions (non-life) even though there is no mention of this in the agreement that they worked out in bilateral discussions with the US in late 1999.
They are also insisting on their own definition of large-scale commercial risk. Ms. Lund insists that the U.S. position will remain firm in opposition to Chinese demands. However, if other difficult issues can be resolved (agriculture, for example) then the insurance issues could be the subject of compromise. Currently, no further discussions with the Chinese are scheduled during February. The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) stated China's insurance sector reported a 14.5% year on year increase in premium income in 2000.