It was founded on November 18, 1998, upgraded from a semi-ministerial to a ministerial institution in 2003, and currently has 31 local offices in every province.
On 17 March 2018, the 13th National People's Congress announced a plan to overhaul China's financial regulatory system.
The main functions of the CIRC were:[1] Internal Setup of the CIRC is:[2] In September 2008, CIRC set up a nonprofit state-owned corporation China Insurance Security Fund Co., Ltd. (Chinese: 中国保险保障基金有限责任公司) with a registered capital of 100 million yuan to manage its insurance protection fund, amounting to at least 7 billion yuan (about US$1 billion).
[3] The chief of the agency, Xiang Junbo, was appointed in October 2011 and has laid plans to introduce pricing and other market reforms.
[5] In early September, Xiang was expelled from the CCP and dismissed from public office, the CCDI said.