Insurance companies in China are closelysupervised and generally subjected to appropriateregulation. The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC)employs a rules based framework and has achieved a highlevel of regulatory compliance from supervised companies.This assessment of the People's Republic ofChina's compliance with International Association ofInsurance Supervisors (IAIS) Insurance Core Principles (ICP)was carried out as part of the 2010 Financial SectorAssessment Program (FSAP). The CIRC has principalresponsibility over insurance regulation in China andconducts its duties through its headquarters in Beijing and35 regional branches, the insurance bureaus. Insurancesupervision is not limited to the CIRC, as it is affected byhigh level regulations issued by the state council.