Lloyd's chairman Lord Levene is set to lodge an application to establish an onshore reinsurance branch in China.
The move would allow Lloyd's to reinsure local business and provide Chinese insurers with access to Lloyd's.
Lord Levene is part of a business delegation visiting China at the same times as Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Lord Levene said: "Lloyd's has been supporting Chinese insurers with specialist reinsurance capacity and expertise since the 1970s. It is important that we now move onshore to enable us to develop a closer relationship with Chinese insurers and provide the capacity to support them in the rapid growth of the domestic market.
"There is scope for Lloyd's to play a broader role, helping to transfer risks from the balance sheets of local insurers and providing full access, in local currency, to the capacity, knowledge and technical expertise of the Lloyd's market."
