China Re has nominated Central Huijin Investment executive He Xingda as a non-executive director candidate for the fifth session of its board, underscoring the role of the state-backed shareholder in steering China’s largest homegrown reinsurance group.
The move, which still requires shareholder approval and clearance from the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), comes as China Re continues to refresh its governance and reinsurance leadership.
He has held senior roles at Central Huijin and at affiliates of New China Life Insurance. Under the terms of his service contract, he will not receive director’s remuneration if the reinsurance group’s shareholders approve his election.
Central Huijin is a state-owned investment company under China Investment Corporation and acts as the State Council’s shareholder arm in major financial enterprises in China. As of the end of 2020, Central Huijin held stakes in 17 financial institutions, including China Re, China Development Bank and the country’s four largest state-owned commercial banks.
Market data shows Central Huijin is the controlling shareholder of China Re, giving it substantial influence over the reinsurer’s board composition and strategic direction.
Industry analysts say a Central Huijin executive joining the board typically signals closer alignment with national financial and risk-management priorities in China’s state sector, especially for groups such as China Re that sit at the center of domestic reinsurance capacity.
The nomination follows a period of board-level turnover at China Re that began in 2025 and is now largely established. The company appointed vice chairman and executive director Zhuang Qianzhi as chairman of the fifth-session board in September 2025, after former chairman He Chunlei stepped down upon reaching the statutory retirement age.
Zhuang received regulatory approval from the NFRA on December 8, 2025.
Separately, China Re confirmed that Zhu Xiaoyun obtained NFRA approval to serve as president, effective March 16, 2026. Earlier this month, the reinsurer also called its first extraordinary general meeting of 2026 for March 26 in Beijing to seek shareholder approval for the election of Lyu Zhi as a non-executive director on the same board session, another development that has already been disclosed to the market.
China Re is incorporated in the People’s Republic of China and listed in Hong Kong under stock code 1508. The group operates through five main subsidiaries covering property and casualty reinsurance, life and health reinsurance, primary P&C insurance, asset management and insurance brokerage.
Company and industry reports describe China Re as the only state-owned reinsurance group in China and a leading player in Asia’s reinsurance market, with global rankings placing it among the top reinsurance groups worldwide by gross premium in recent years.
Earlier disclosures have highlighted that China Re writes business across China and more than 100 overseas markets, positioning the group as a key conduit for both domestic and international reinsurance capital.
