China, France need to strengthen communication and cooperation: Chinese FM

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Wednesday in Beijing.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, mentioned French President Emmanuel Macron's fourth state visit to China. Every meeting between the two heads of state is not only a major event in China-France relations but also attracts close attention from the international community, he said.

In the face of the current intricate global challenges, it is necessary for China and France to enhance communication and cooperation and shoulder their common responsibility as major countries and permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, Wang said, noting that it is believed that through the joint efforts of both sides, this visit will further enhance strategic mutual trust, deepen strategic cooperation, and inject new impetus into the development of the China-France comprehensive strategic partnership.

Wang expounded on the nature and serious dangers of the erroneous remarks on Taiwan made by the current Japanese leader, articulating China's principle and stance. He emphasized that as victorious nations of World War II, China and France should jointly safeguard the hard-won outcomes of World War II paid for with blood, and resolutely oppose any attempt by Japan to exploit the Taiwan question to stir up trouble and repeat the mistakes of history.

"China hopes and believes that France will continue to understand and support its legitimate position," Wang added.

Barrot said President Macron attaches great importance to relations with China, noting that as permanent members of the UN Security Council, France and China have a responsibility to jointly uphold world peace in a constructive manner. The French side firmly adheres to the one-China policy and looks forward to further strengthening the friendship and cooperation between the two peoples through President Macron's visit, Barrot added.

He thanked the Chinese side for its active efforts in facilitating the visit and expressed confidence that it will yield fruitful outcomes, noting that France is committed to promoting an independent and autonomous European Union and is willing to actively advance the development of EU-China relations.

China, France need to strengthen communication and cooperation: Chinese FM

China, France need to strengthen communication and cooperation: Chinese FM

China, France need to strengthen communication and cooperation: Chinese FM

China, France need to strengthen communication and cooperation: Chinese FM

The Shanghai Futures Exchange on Thursday officially listed options contracts for hot-rolled coil, stainless steel, and low-sulfur fuel oil upon approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

On their debut day, the three new commodity options saw a total of 236 contracts listed for trading. This included 48 contracts for hot-rolled coil options, 50 for stainless steel options, and 138 for low-sulfur fuel oil options.

China is the world's largest consumer of hot-rolled coil and stainless steel, as well as a major consumption market for low-sulfur fuel oil in the Asia-Pacific region.

The introduction of these commodity options will provide related enterprises with a broader array of tools and strategies to manage risks and ensure steady operations, according to analysts.

"China's futures and options product system has been further enriched, now offering comprehensive coverage across the major sectors of non-ferrous metals, ferrous metals, precious metals, and energy and chemicals. This enables investors to combine futures and options to separately manage directional price risks and price volatility risks, while allowing enterprises to manage the price risks they face with greater precision," said Huang Wei, director of the futures and derivatives department at the Shanghai Futures Exchange.

Shanghai Futures Exchange launches trading for hot-rolled coil, stainless steel, low-sulfur fuel oil