China is locking in steps to shape the pricing of the vast quantities of industrial metals it produces and consumes, with moves to attract foreign firms to trade on Shanghai's futures exchange, which would eventually fragment global markets.
After buying mining assets around the world over the past two decades to secure metals needed for industrialization and, more recently, to meet its carbon emissions targets, China now wants a bigger say in how prices of those metals are determined.
But it has lost market share in metals futures trading and needs to persuade international investors to use the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE), according to interviews with more than 10 brokers, traders, analysts, risk managers and consultants with direct knowledge of ShFE's plans.
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