On August 26, Shanghai officially issued the 14th Five‑Year Plan for building itself into a world‑class international trade hub. The document proposes expanding trading volumes for traditional bulk commodities including copper and aluminium. It aims to improve futures‑product systems for new‑energy metals such as lithium, cobalt and nickel. A hydrogen‑based green‑energy trading platform will be built in Lingang New Area to strengthen Shanghai’s international pricing power for bulk goods.

The plan pushes forward opening‑up of futures and options instruments to overseas investors. It seeks to consolidate global benchmark status for “Shanghai Copper”, “Shanghai Oil” and “Shanghai Rubber”, while raising the share of Renminbi settlement in cross‑border commodity trade. It also targets improvements to cross‑border‑trade business environments, supporting cross‑border investment‑financing and logistics infrastructure to attract more multinational trading institutions to Shanghai.

Industry analysts note that a more complete new‑energy‑metal futures system will offer hedging tools for domestic new‑energy‑chain enterprises to offset raw‑material‑price volatility. The Lingang green‑energy trading platform will support market‑oriented development of China’s hydrogen‑energy sector. Nevertheless, internationalisation of commodity markets faces fierce overseas competition. Supporting systems for cross‑border settlement and risk management must be further improved to draw global institutional participants.

Institutions remind readers that Shanghai’s international‑trade‑hub development is a long‑term strategy. Full global‑pricing‑power gains cannot be achieved quickly. Market focus will stay on real‑world indicators: overseas‑institution participation rates, cross‑border‑RMB‑settlement volumes and the launch progress of new‑energy‑metal futures varieties.