Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said April 1 that itlowered its outlook on ChinaReinsurance (Group) Corp. and core subsidiaries and China LifeReinsurance Co. Ltd. to negative from stable.

The rating agency reaffirmed the companies' A+ long-termlocal-currency insurer financial strength and issuer credit ratings.

At the same time, S&P affirmed its AA- long-term local-currencyinsurer financial strength and counterparty credit ratings of and theA+ long-term local-currency insurer financial strength and counterparty creditratings of China Life Insurance(Overseas) Co. Ltd.

The outlook on both companies remains negative.

The negative outlook on China Life reflects S&P's viewsthat the insurer's capital and earnings will continue to weaken. The outlookalso reflects the long-term sovereign rating on China, given the insurer'sstatus as a government-related entity. However, the rating agency believes thelikelihood that the insurer will receive government support if the need arisesis very high.

Meanwhile, the negative outlooks on China Re Group and itssubsidiaries reflect the revision of the outlooks on the sovereign ratings tonegative from stable. The affirmed ratings reflect the high likelihood ofgovernment support as well as the group's strong credit profile and strongbusiness risk profile.

S&P Ratings andS&P Global Market Intelligence are owned by McGraw Hill Financial Inc.