China on Friday unveiled its first-ever guidelines for the insurance of new-energy vehicles (NEVs), introducing measures aimed at addressing key challenges currently facing the sector.
NEV owners have long struggled with high insurance premiums and the risk of being denied coverage. At the same time, insurers have been burdened by financial losses due to the high repair costs of NEVs.
The guidelines, jointly issued by the National Financial Regulatory Administration and three other government organs, aim to reduce maintenance costs for NEVs. They also emphasize the need for exploring the establishment of a risk-classification system for insurance models.
In support of these efforts, the Insurance Association of China and the Shanghai Insurance Exchange announced on Friday that an insurance platform dedicated to the NEV sector will be launched on Saturday.
The platform is designed to ensure proper insurance coverage for NEVs, particularly for high-risk vehicles. Insurers participating in the platform will be prohibited from denying coverage.
China's NEV sector has seen rapid development in recent years. By the end of 2024, the number of NEVs in use in China had reached 31.4 million, a 260-fold surge over the past decade, official data shows.
China unveils first guidelines on NEV insurance
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's official visit to China signals a policy shift towards building a more pragmatic relationship between the two countries, according to a Canadian researcher.
Carney arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to begin an official visit to China through Saturday, which marks the first trip by a Canadian Prime Minister to the country in eight years.
Robert Hanlon, director and principal investigator of Canada and the Asia Pacific Policy Project (CAPPP) at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, told the China Global Television Network (CGTN) that Carney's visit indicates Canada is recalibrating its strategic perception of China, which could cement the foundation for the country's economic diversification efforts and boost the development of bilateral cooperation.
"I think it's a clear message that he has moved Canada's strategy to a much more pragmatic, interest-based, -focused relationship with our trading partners, moving away from values-based narratives that we might have heard on previous governments. Canada has spoken about moving from what the Prime Minister's Office is calling "from reliance to resilience", and that means diversifying our economies and our trade everywhere in the world. And so China being our second largest trading partner, it makes perfect sense for our PM to head to Beijing," he said.
The scholar also noted the huge cooperation potential between the two sides in economic and trade fields, citing Canada's efforts to step up shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the planned construction of an oil pipeline in Alberta which aims to increase export access to Asian markets. "Canada and China both share tremendous economic opportunities together and so finding ways to enhance our exports. Canada specifically looking to build out its LNG and oil, kind of export market. We know Canada is a major producer of critical minerals and China is a buyer. And so there's a lot of synergy between that kind of those kind of markets," he said.
Canadian PM's visit to China paves way for more pragmatic trade ties: scholar
