SHANGHAI/TOKYO -- China is almost ready for its next step toward full-fledged superpower status: launching crude oil futures trading.
Final preparations are underway at the Shanghai International Energy Exchange, or INE, in the city's pilot free trade zone. After five system tests in 2017, the trading platform has had small glitches but is nearly set to go, according to Tang Yun, an assistant to the president of Shanghai-based East Asia Futures. Trading in yuan could start by March, once the authorities give the go-ahead.
