On June 16-18, 2025, the 2025 International Derivatives Expo (IDX 2025) hosted by Futures Industry Association (FIA) was successfully held in London, UK. It was the third time that Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) participated in IDX as an exhibitor and shared the latest developments of China’s futures market, attracting wide attention from various participants of the event.

IDX 2025 brought together more than 1,000 attendees from the global derivatives market, and over 20 exhibitors such as SHFE, Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE), Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE), CME Group, Eurex and B3. This year’s themes focus on evolving regulatory landscape in global derivatives markets, opportunities and challenges facing global derivatives exchanges, latest updates in derivatives clearing, commodity derivatives, trading and execution, market operational resilience, etc.

China’s futures market is gradually opening in recent years, with more products and diversified access channels for global investors, and increasing overseas participation. Currently, SHFE has 28 futures and options products accessible to Qualified Foreign Investors (QFI), and 6 international products directly opened to global investors, accounting for more than 70% of all products listed on SHFE, the highest among China’s onshore futures exchanges. These products cover a wide range of areas such as metals, energy, chemical, and shipping, meeting diverse risk management and asset allocation needs of various market participants.

Overseas participation in China’s futures market is gradually increasing year-by-year. According to the statistics of China Futures Market Monitoring Center (CFMMC), by the end of 2024, the number of overseas clients in China’s futures market increased by 17% YOY, and the open interest of overseas clients increased by 28% YOY. Among that, the number of SHFE’s overseas clients (excluding QFI) increased by nearly 20% YOY, and QFI clients increased by nearly 60%. We now have overseas clients from over 30 countries and regions in six continents globally.

To make full use of this opportunity to introduce China’s futures market to global investors, SHFE hosted a side panel during IDX 2025 with the theme of “China’s Commodity Markets: Opportunities amid Changes”. We invited experts from J.P. Morgan, Winton, BOCI, and JunHe LLP to discuss how China’s futures market can help various market participants manage risks and adapt to changes, as well as the outlook for China’s economy and commodity markets, along with recent regulatory developments. The discussion attracted more than a hundred attendees.

The panelists noted that rising global economic uncertainty and frequent commodity price fluctuations have further increased market participants' demand for risk management. China’s futures market offers strong liquidity and a diverse range of products. In recent years, the market has gradually opened up, with some products showing strong correlations with their international counterparts, while others are unique to China—making them well-suited to meet the needs of various market participants. As a result, the market has attracted growing interest from international investors.

Amid persistent global economic uncertainties, the futures market can play an even greater role. Industrial clients can use it to hedge risks on the spot market, while institutional investors can diversify their portfolios and access more investment opportunities by engaging with China’s market. Moreover, the successful track record of China’s futures market in navigating recent turbulence in global commodity markets has bolstered investor confidence.

Moving forward, China’s futures market will continue to serve global traders, diversify its product mix, optimize market rules and mechanisms, and provide more effective tools of price discovery and risk management for global traders.