中国上调寿险利率上限

 　　BEIJING, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- China's insurance industry regulator said Friday that it will relax controls on interest rates for standard life insurance products, marking the country's latest effort to deepen market-oriented reforms in its financial system.

　　The 2.5-percent upper limit on pre-determined interest rates of standard life insurance products will be removed starting Aug. 5, according to a notice posted by China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) on its website.

　　The measure represents China's freshest effort in interest rate liberalization, following the central bank's key move on July 19 to loosen its grip on bank lending rates.

　　Under Friday's new regulation, insurance companies can set their own rates in line with prudent¹ principles, but for risk prevention purposes, a new cap of no more than 3.5 percent will be applied² for the statutory reserve requirement assessment³ ratio of standard life insurance products.

　　Official CIRC data show that the assets of China's insurance industry totaled 7.88 trillion yuan (1.27 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of June, up 7.2 percent from the level at the beginning of 2013.

　　The new regulations are expected to encourage innovation within the industry to spur products that satisfy consumers' real demands, said Yuan Xucheng, an official at CIRC's life insurance department.

　　The rigid⁴ 2.5-percent cap, made valid⁵ since 1999, has resulted in severe homogeneity in life insurance products, according to Tuo Guozhu, professor of insurance at Capital University of Economics and Business.

　　The proportion of standard life insurance products in China's total life insurance business declined from 44 percent in 2002 to 9.2 percent in 2012, "a result of consumers' voting with their feet," said Tuo.

　　Since the pre-determined interest rates are largely considered the rate of return offered to consumers, Friday's new regulations will be very positive news for those seeking insurance, according to Tuo.

　　To mitigate⁶ potential risks and balance the industry, the CIRC also rolled out a string of accompanying measures on Friday, including a differentiated⁷ policy to boost old-age pension business and moves to support risk prevention insurance business.

1 prudent   

adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的

参考例句：

• A prudent traveller never disparages his own country.聪明的旅行者从不贬低自己的国家。
• You must school yourself to be modest and prudent.你要学会谦虚谨慎。

2 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

3 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

4 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

5 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

6 mitigate   

vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和

参考例句：

• The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
• Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。

7 differentiated   

区分，区别，辨别( differentiate的过去式和过去分词 )； 区别对待； 表明…间的差别，构成…间差别的特征

参考例句：

• The development of mouse kidney tubules requires two kinds of differentiated cells. 小鼠肾小管的发育需要有两种分化的细胞。
• In this enlargement, barley, alfalfa, and sugar beets can be differentiated. 在这张放大的照片上，大麦，苜蓿和甜菜都能被区分开。