From January to October this year the future's market chalked up trade worth an accumulated 629.8 billion Yuan (US$75.9 billion) with its three major trading items, namely copper, aluminum and rubber, up 17% year-on-year.

According to General Manager Jiang Yang, the Shanghai Futures Market has become Asia's leading and the world's second largest futures trading center for copper.

Meanwhile, the market has established a set of standardized operation systems with complete business rules, technical support, on-time monitoring, in order to reduce business risks.

Jiang said that as a kind of derivative market, the futures market can serve as an important means of upgrading the national economy's ability to overcome risks. Now that China has entered the WTO, the function of the futures market will be given full play, he said.

(Xinhua News Agency December 10, 2001)