By Hu Nan

China has listed its first-ever shipping index futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange. Experts say the move Friday shows the country's increasingly influential role in the global shipping industry. And could lead to more stable in prices. Hu Nan has the details.

YANG GUANG Director of Futures Department, China Securities Regulatory Commission "The China Securities Regulatory Commission approved the listing of the Shanghai Export Containerized Freight Index Futures Contract for its Europe Service, as a specific domestic product."

The news is a boon to the sector in China, which is only the third country to list shipping index futures after the US and Singapore.

FANG XINGHAI Vice Chairman of China Securities Regulatory Commission "Listing shipping index futures is an important measure for China's futures market to implement President Xi's instructions on the construction of a maritime power. It helps to enhance the risk management level and international competitiveness of shipping industry chain enterprises, as well as the market's ability to allocate shipping resources. It also promotes the construction of the Shanghai International Financial Center and the International Shipping Center."

China has been the biggest trader by container throughput since 2022. Seven of the world's ten busiest container ports are in China, including Shanghai Port, the biggest.

The pandemic and international fluctuations triggered a strong need for fair pricing and effective hedging in the global container shipping market.

In response, China's futures market aims to provide a standardized, transparent, efficient and cost-effective service.

HAN JUN General Manager Assistant, COSCO Shipping "It's possible to judge the trend. For example, if you consider the indices for August, October and December today, you can judge the forward freight rate and bring confidence to traders. The index is released by the authoritative Shanghai Shipping Exchange, and has a clear effect on the market."

CHEN JUN Assistant President, Eurasia International Group "Today I was also surprised by the immediate rise of the price by six-points. In future, I believe spot and futures will influence each other, so price fluctuations for shipping will be smoother and healthier."

The index futures mainly serve European shipping lines and are open to global investors. It's also the first cash-settled and service-oriented index on Chinese commodity future exchanges. Experts say all these "firsts" show China is boosting efforts to counter fluctuating prices in international shipping, as it looks to promote a robust container shipping market.