Futures refers to the delivery of a certain number of standardized commodities or financial assets at an agreed time and price, that is, at a certain time in the future, according to the agreed price and quantity at that time, so futures are also called "futures contracts". There are many kinds of futures, such as agricultural products, precious metals and financial products. People can manage risks and expected profits by trading futures. The purpose of futures trading is not only to gain profits, but also to lock in prices, avoid risks and achieve arbitrage.

Futures trading has several obvious characteristics: first, the trading object is standardized contract, and the risk is relatively controllable; Secondly, the transaction capital utilization rate is high, the investment threshold is low, and it is easy to participate; Thirdly, we can observe the price trend in the medium and long term, and we can get rich profits by trading at the right time. However, there are also some shortcomings in futures trading, such as leveraged trading may face huge loss risks, trading needs handling fees and deposits, and retail investors need to consider market fluctuations and risks.

The Development and Future Trend of China Futures Market

After nearly 40 years of development, China futures market has become one of the largest futures markets in the world. In the future, with the continuous growth and reform of China's economy, the futures market will continue to face opportunities and challenges. China Municipal Government will strengthen the regulation and supervision of the futures market, improve the transparency and fairness of the futures market, encourage financial innovation and international exchanges, and promote the deep integration of the futures market and the real economy. Meanwhile, China will actively participate in the competition and cooperation in the international futures market, develop diversified financial products and services, and gradually build an internationally competitive futures market.