China Issues Draft Version of Futures Law for Public Feedback

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The Chinese government has flagged further efforts to develop and standardise the futures market with the release of a new national draft law.

On 29 April the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress issued the draft version of the “People’s Republic of China Futures Law” (中华人民共和国期货法(草案)) for the solicitation of opinions and feedback from the public until 28 May.

The draft consist of 14 chapter and 173 articles, which expand upon the 86 articles and eight chapters of the existing “Futures Transactions Administrative Regulations” (期货交易管理条例) by adding six chapters concerning:

  • Other derivatives products transactions;
  • Futures settlement and delivery,
  • Futures traders,
  • Futures settlement agencies,
  • Futures services agencies,
  • Cross-border jurisdiction and coordination.

Industry observers say that the release of the draft law marks the elevation of the development of the Chinese futures market to the status of “national strategy,” and that its growth will be strongly encouraged by the central government in future.

Xue Zhisheng (薛智胜), a professor at the faculty of law at Tianjin Industrial university, said that the draft law was a highly comprehensive and “systematic” document that placed heavy emphasis upon ensuring consistency with international practices.