While promoting the development of China’s life insurance industry, Mr. Greenberg introduced into China an advanced sales model when AIA first introduced a life insurance agent system into the Shanghai market. Since 1992, the insurance agent system has been decisive in the development of China’s insurance industry, especially in the rapid growth of life insurance, because the existence of insurance agents has to some extent accelerated the institutional reform of China’s insurance companies.

Thanks to Mr. Greenberg’s support, Shanghai has also attracted a large amount of foreign investment. The AIA Building at No. 17, East No.1 Zhongshan Road, and the Shanghai Mall at the heart of Jing’an District stand testament to this.

Mr. Greenberg, having been in the insurance and finance industry for 58 years, has deep insights into China’s economy. He has never given up on China’s ability to change, even in 1975 when he first came to China. At that point, China was still a closed country, but he strongly believed, “China will one day be part of the world trading system. You can’t keep a country as big as China locked up forever ... I believe that one day there will be a change.” Three decades afterwards, he has seen gargantuan changes and is ever more confident in China, “Today China is the second largest economy in the world, and with 1.4 billion people, it could be NO.1. The numbers speak for themselves.”

The outspoken man also pointed out that the pace of China’s change must be accelerated: “China has to open its markets to foreign companies. There has to be equality. It is not as if China is 25 years ago. I hope that will happen sooner rather than later.” To conclude the interview, facing the current Sino-US relations, he voiced his expectation for the current generation of Chinese youths, “They need change that will be beneficial to China and its trading partners.”

(Special thanks to SinoVision for helping with the video interview.)

（Mr. Greenberg's wishes for Chinese youth）