The Chinese insurance industry has experienced rapid expansion over the past decade. In addition to steadily increasing demand, two major supply-side trends have encouraged the development of the industry: (1) under the World Trade Organization (WTO) framework, the Chinese government lowered entry barriers to foreign insurers, allowing them to establish joint-venture insurance firms in China; and (2) domestic insurers strengthened themselves through initial public offerings and other market developments. (For example, China Life Insurance at one point became the second largest insurance company in the world in terms of market capitalization although the value has kept declining since the stock market peak of 2008.)