The Shanghai Futures Exchange pioneered China's recycled materials derivatives market Tuesday with the debut of cast aluminum alloy futures and options for trading, a strategic move to help manufacturers hedge costs in the world's largest aluminum recycling sector.
A visit to the production area of a new materials enterprise in Shanghai shows how recycled waste aluminum is used to produce cast aluminum alloys.
Cheng Shuai, chief of a new materials enterprise in Shanghai, said they used wasted materials "such as the scrap aluminum from cars that have reached the end of their service life, used aluminum cans, or some pots, pans and bowls that have been scrapped after use".
"Scrap aluminum from cars that have reached the end of their service life; use aluminum cans or some pots, pans, and bowls that have been scrapped after use."
Aluminum alloys have been widely used in automobiles and mechanical equipment due to their low density, high strength, good corrosion resistance, and excellent castability of cast aluminum alloys.
The Shanghai company derives 80 percent of its business from the automotive industry. The biggest challenge faced in production is the procurement of scrap aluminum. The price of scrap aluminum is related to pure aluminum, but there will be a time lag in the price fluctuations of the two.
"For instance, if the price of one ton of pure aluminum rises by 100 yuan (about 14 U.S. dollars) today, it might take two or three days for the price of one ton of scrap aluminum to increase by 50 yuan. This has caused great uncertainty in our production and operation," said Cheng.
Cheng said listing aluminum alloy futures and options will bring two benefits to enterprises. First, companies can lock in costs in advance through futures, reducing the fluctuation range of raw material costs from 20 percent up or down to within 5 percent up or down, making production costs more stable. Second, it standardizes quality. Previously, the recycling standards for scrap aluminum varied, with price differences reaching up to 2,000 yuan per ton. Now, with a unified standard, it reassures buyers and sellers.
"With the futures tool, I can achieve full production at the factory based on futures orders. Even if there are no orders from clients, I can do price protection on futures," said Cheng.
Economists commented that the listing of cast aluminum alloy futures helps stabilize the production costs of enterprises and reduces the risks of production and operation.
Shanghai's listing of cast aluminum alloy futures stabilizes production costs, reduces risks
Li Yuhua, a farmer-turned forest ranger from a mountainous village in Dulongjiang Town, southwest China's Yunnan Province, has spent nine years protecting the forests in her hometown while helping local people increasing their incomes.
Li's family was once a registered impoverished household, relying mainly on corn farming for living. Things began to change for her family in 2016 when China launched a policy allowing registered impoverished population to work as ecological forest rangers, and Li became one of the first ecological forest rangers in the town.
"When I first began to work as a forest ranger, it was hard for me even to climb mountains, let alone climb rocks and cross rivers. But I told myself that since the country gave me this opportunity, I must do it well. I worked hard to improve my physical fitness and learn new skills, always actively taking the missions of patrolling mountains," said Li.
As Li often wears a colorful, vibrantly striped "Dulong blanket," a traditional clothing of the Dulong ethnic group, the villagers call her the "rainbow ranger."
"I think the name 'Rainbow Ranger' is beautiful. It makes me feel like a rainbow for us women of Dulong ethnic group guarding our homeland," Li said.
Dulong is a mountain-dwelling ethnic group in southwest China. It is one of the least populous of China's 56 ethnic groups, and the people were known for "direct transition" from primitive life to the modern socialist society at the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
Most Dulong people live in Dulongjiang Town, where an inhospitable mountainous terrain used to thwart the place's development for decades. The town remained to be one of the poorest areas in Yunnan Province and even in the entire country. Thanks to government inputs and the development of industries with local features, the Dulong people have been experiencing remarkable life changes. In 2018, the Dulong ethnic group shook off poverty as a whole.
Beyond safeguarding forests, Li took the lead in developing non-timber forest-based economy in the town, guiding local residents to grow plants like Chinese black cardamom and wild-simulated lingzhi mushrooms as well as raising cattle and bees.
In 2025, the total output value of the town's non-timber forest-based economy reached nearly 30 million yuan (around 4.3 million U.S. dollars), with the annual average income of 43 households increasing by more than 20,000 yuan (around 2,900 U.S. dollars) each.
Li also established a cooperative for Dulong blanket making, attracting more than 170 women to learn traditional weaving techniques. They have developed 12 types of cultural and creative products, including shawls and scarves, and sold them worldwide through livestreaming, generating wealth for themselves.
"In the past, we only wove blankets for our own use. Now she teaches us to make the cultural and creative products and sell them. Last year, I earned more than 4,000 yuan (around 580 U.S. dollars) from weaving. I spent the money on my children's school fees and new appliances for my house," said Mu Jianying, member of the cooperative.
Li's dedication to both forestry and rural revitalization has earned her widespread recognition. In 2024, she was honored as model of ethnic solidarity and progress and received the title certificate from President Xi Jinping. She was also awarded the title of National March 8 Red-Banner Pacesetter, the highest honor presented by the All-China Women's Federation to the country's outstanding women, ahead of the International Women's Day observed on March 8.
Li said her achievements are the result of collective efforts.
"I often think that one person's strength is very limited, but the strength of a group is great. There are 195 ecological forest rangers like me protecting this land in the Dulongjiang Grand Canyon," she said.
As a female forest ranger, Li shared a message for women ahead of the International Women's Day.
"To mark the International Women's Day, I want to say to all my sisters: No matter what position we are in, as long as we are willing to endure hardship and work hard, we will surely weave our own rainbow," she said.
Forest ranger dedicated to guarding green mountains in Yunnan
Forest ranger dedicated to guarding green mountains in Yunnan
