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China says it will now let foreigners invest directly in domestic nickel and lithium futures. The change is part of Beijing’s push to gain more power in global commodities markets. Right now, prices for these raw materials are still decided in places like London, New York, and Singapore. China buys more than anyone else but doesn’t get to call the shots. That’s the part it’s trying to fix. The China Securities Regulatory Commission said 14 futures and options products will be opened to overseas capital. It didn’t say when the changes will start but told local exchanges to begin preparing. Nickel contracts are traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, while lithium carbonate is handled by the Guangzhou Futures Exchange. Both are heavily traded and play a major role in powering electric vehicles and the broader energy industry. Shanghai exchange prepares for global access push The Shanghai exchange already laid out an internationalization plan back in May. The idea was to let foreign investors post collateral in foreign currency when making yuan-denominated trades. In other words, you won’t need to convert your dollars or euros into yuan before trading. That’s been one of the main problems for years. People don’t want the added currency risk. “Allowing foreign funds into futures will help China price these metals better,” the SHFE said in its own statement. It also said this could help improve risk management in metals and strengthen nickel price discovery. But here’s the thing folks; this isn’t the first time China has tried something like this. In 2018, foreigners got access to iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange. That worked okay. But other moves? Not so much. Since 2018, yuan-denominated crude oil contracts have been open to global traders on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange, and copper was added…

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Filed under: News - @ January 26, 2026 10:26 am