Writing a Grand Chapter in Technology Finance: China Life Nurtures New Quality Productive Forces with "Patient Capital"

Source: Global Times

【Global Times Insurance Comprehensive Report】In the era of surging digital economy and rapid technological innovation, doing a good job in the field of science and technology finance is a key focus for financial services to the real economy and promoting high-quality development.

Once again, spring tides are rising, and once again, the National Two Sessions are convening. New productive forces, emerging industries, new policy-based financial tools, new intelligent terminals, new urbanization, new energy, new employment groups, new industries and tracks, new infrastructure projects, new mass arts… This year’s government work report is full of “new” elements, which is very inspiring.

As a leader in the domestic life insurance industry, China Life Insurance Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “China Life”) deeply understands the political and people-oriented nature of financial work, actively responds to the Party Central Committee’s strategic deployment on developing new productive forces, leverages its insurance core advantages, deeply integrates the “technology” and “finance” dual engines, and explores the construction of a multi-level science and technology financial service system, injecting “Guoshou momentum” into the cultivation, development, and growth of new productive forces.

“Safeguarding the real economy effectively and practically, ensuring insurance funds are precisely invested in key areas and weak links of the real economy. Supporting stable growth of science and technology innovation funds, strongly backing the development of new productive forces.” At the 2026 work conference, China Life stated this, confirming its determination and achievements in focusing on the big article of science and technology finance.

Continuously implementing national strategic deployments, China Life empowers low-carbon transformation through green investments, activates economic momentum through regional coordination, and cultivates new productive forces through innovative layouts, serving national regional strategic investments, continuously injecting “financial vitality” into the real economy, and helping build a modern industrial system.

During the “14th Five-Year Plan” period, the company fully leverages the advantages of insurance institutional funds, continuously increasing investments in strategic emerging industries. In 2021, it invested in China Life’s first strategic equity investment fund focused on technological innovation—the China Life Technology Innovation Fund, with a committed capital of 4 billion yuan, mainly investing in semiconductor chips, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, medical technology, life health, and other fields supporting new productive forces. In the healthcare sector, since 2016, it has successively invested in the first, second, and third phases of the health industry funds initiated by managers within the China Life system, with a total committed scale of 19.5 billion yuan, actively deploying leading enterprises in basic medical services, emerging biomedicine, digital healthcare, and other industries.

Practicing ESG investment principles, deeply researching green transformation trends and pathways, continuously increasing investment in related fields to meet financing needs, and consolidating its leadership in green investment. In 2022 and 2024, China Life invested a total of 2.379 billion yuan in strategic capital increases for China Nuclear HuiNeng Co., Ltd., becoming its first major strategic investor and second-largest shareholder, supporting the development of new energy projects such as photovoltaic and wind power. In December 2021, it made a strategic investment of 2 billion yuan in China Huaneng New Energy, becoming its largest strategic investor and third-largest shareholder, helping to further optimize governance and promote long-term steady high-quality development. In July 2025, China Huaneng New Energy Group Co., Ltd. officially listed on the main board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. This listing is not only a milestone in the development history of China Huaneng New Energy but also the largest IPO project in the A-share market since 2025, fully demonstrating the effectiveness of China Life’s strategic layout in the new energy field.

Digital financial investments are also continuously advancing, supporting the listing of the first data center holding-type ABS in the market. In 2025, China Life allocated the market’s first data center asset holding ABS.

Additionally, during the “14th Five-Year Plan” period, China Life launched multiple innovative projects to improve service quality for the real economy. In 2023, it invested 11.8 billion yuan to subscribe to the “China Life-Shanghai Fada No.1 Equity Investment Plan,” which used S-shares to acquire equity in Shanghai Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund Co., Ltd., a state-owned enterprise in Shanghai, successfully exploring a relay cooperation model between insurance funds and government funds in industry support. In 2021, it co-invested with State Power Investment Corporation and others in China’s first green-certified low-carbon industry investment fund—the Carbon Neutrality Fund. In 2022, it invested in the first insurance asset-backed plan, “Guoshou Investment-China General Revitalization and Efficiency Enhancement Asset Support Plan,” promoting the construction of a multi-level REITs market. In 2025, it invested in the industry’s first sustainable development-linked insurance debt investment plan—“Guoshou Investment-Guangxi Aluminum Debt Investment Plan.”

The development of new productive forces relies on long-term, stable, large-scale funding support. As one of the largest domestic institutional investors, China Life manages a huge amount of medium- and long-term funds. The company always adheres to serving national strategic goals, fully leveraging the long-cycle advantage of insurance funds, and through diversified investment approaches, precisely channels financial vitality into key areas of technological innovation and new productive forces, helping to solve the financing difficulties, high costs, and mismatched terms faced by tech innovation enterprises. It has become an important force supporting industrial upgrading and high-quality economic development as “patient capital” and “long-term capital.”

In early March this year, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the State Intellectual Property Office jointly issued the “Opinions on Accelerating the High-Quality Development of Science and Technology Insurance to Strongly Support High-Level Scientific and Technological Self-Reliance,” aiming to accelerate the construction of a science and technology insurance system compatible with technological innovation and guide long-term funds into the tech sector.

This year marks the beginning of the “14th Five-Year Plan.” China Life will continue to remember its corporate mission of “serving the overall development of the country and safeguarding people’s well-being,” unwaveringly focusing on developing science and technology finance and serving new productive forces. The company will further deepen technological empowerment, accelerate the application of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and blockchain, and improve the intelligence, precision, and convenience of services for technological innovation; optimize insurance protection services, continuously upgrade tech insurance products, develop more risk protection plans suitable for new business forms and models, and explore full lifecycle insurance and wealth management services for tech talents; increase investment efforts, focus on developing new productive forces, optimize investment strategies, and expand long-term capital supply; improve coordination mechanisms, strengthen internal collaboration, expand ecosystem partnerships, and build a more efficient and open science and technology financial service platform; strengthen risk management, actively support innovation while enhancing the identification, assessment, and management of tech financial risks to ensure steady and sustainable business development.

Doing a good job in science and technology finance is an honorable mission entrusted to financial central enterprises by the times. China Life states it will forge ahead with determination and perseverance, nourishing the “new” of science and technology with financial vitality, and driving development with technological “strength,” continuously contributing financial power to accelerate the development of new productive forces, build a strong technological nation, and realize Chinese-style modernization. (Xiao Ya)