中国正寻求增加原油定价权

China is increasingly central to world trade in crude oil. But the No. 2 consumer of crude - 11.4% of the global total last year according to BP PLC figures - is frustrated it doesn't have a bigger role in a key aspect of the trade: the commodity futures trading that dictates market prices.

中国在世界原油贸易中的地位越来越重要。英国石油公司(BP PLC)的数据显示，去年中国的原油消费量占全世界总消费量的11.4%。作为世界第二大原油消费国，中国却未能在原油期货交易方面扮演更重要的角色，它为此感到沮丧。期货交易是原油交易的重要方面，起着决定市场价格的作用。

Beijing hopes to change that as it seeks what authorities call pricing power. China's government has said for some time it plans to launch trading in crude oil futures, the commodity derivative contracts used to set benchmark prices for oil. Authorities recently indicated the contracts could be launched as soon as this year. Beijing hopes they will compete with the West Texas Intermediate futures traded in New York and London's Brent futures.

中国政府希望能获得它所说的"定价权"，从而改变这一现状。中国政府一段时间以来一直表示，计划推出原油期货。原油期货这种大宗商品衍生合约起着确定石油基准价格的作用。中国政府最近表示，中国的原油期货合约最快将在今年推出。北京希望其能够与纽约的西得克萨斯中质油油期货(West Texas Intermediate futures)和伦敦的布伦特原油期货(Brent futures)相竞争。

A top China Securities Regulatory Commission official on Saturday kept the talk alive. "Even now, crude oil is fully geared up," said Peng Junheng, the commission's deputy director of futures. Mr. Peng, who was speaking on the final day of Shanghai's Liujiazui Forum, offered no timetable.

中国证券监督管理委员会的一位高级官员上周六谈论了这一话题。在上海陆家嘴论坛的最后一天，证监会期货监管一部副主任彭俊衡表示，原油期货正在做准备工作。他没有提供中国推出这一期货的具体时间安排。

He and other speakers on a panel about commodities made clear the reason China is eager to pursue crude oil futures trading: pricing power. "A lot of work has to be done before we become a price setter for the world, which is our goal," according to Mr. Peng's translated comments.

在陆家嘴论坛一个关于大宗商品的小组讨论会上，彭俊衡和其他与会者阐述了中国急需开展原油期货交易的原因：定价权。彭俊衡说，在成为国际定价中心之前我们还有很多工作要做，成为全球定价中心是我们的目标。

The worry in China is that traders in other markets who may have little appreciation for economic dynamics in China dictate what China pays for commodities.

中国担心其他市场的交易者来决定中国为大宗商品支付的价格，而这些交易者可能对中国的经济动态没有什么了解。

That has become a major issue amid a surge in commodity prices over the past decade. To provide a recognized Chinese price for commodities, authorities have worked hard to build credible commodity futures markets. There are now 28 products traded on the country's markets. Trading volume has surged over the years, with a particularly important contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange in copper a metal sometimes described as an economic bellwether.

过去10年里，由于大宗商品价格的上涨，由外国交易商来为中国决定大宗商品价格的局面已经成了中国面临的一个重要问题。为了能给大宗商品提供一种得到市场认可的中国价格，中国政府一直在努力建立可信赖的大宗商品期货市场。目前在中国市场上交易的商品期货共有28种，交易额在过去几年不断攀升，其中在上海期货交易所交易的铜期货合约在国际市场尤其具有重要地位。铜期货交易经常被称作经济的风向标。

Still, the markets have limits. To protect Beijing's ability to control its currency, China's futures markets are virtually closed to outsiders and its domestic traders don't have easy access to international markets. Speculation from individual traders is rife. That makes its contracts less than credible as the global price for the agricultural, energy and metals products trade in China.

尽管如此，中国的期货市场仍然存在种种限制。为了保护中国政府对人民币汇率的控制，中国的期货市场实际上是不对外开放的，国内的交易员也不太容易进入国际市场，个人交易者投机现象盛行。这使得中国期货市场无法获得农业、能源和金属领域大宗商品的全球定价权。

None of this was lost of the panelists Saturday, and several agreed that the more China's currency system is relaxed, the more credible its commodity markets will become.

上周六的讨论涉及了上述所有问题。几位参加小组讨论的人士一致认为，中国对人民币汇率的控制越放松，中国的大宗商品市场就越值得信赖。

"The price that is found in the domestic market does not reflect global demand, aside from copper," said Zhao Lei, president of Citic Newedge Futures Co., speaking about commodity futures in general. "That's why China has hardly determined the price."

中信新际期货公司(Citic Newedge Futures Co.)董事长赵磊在谈到大宗商品期货时说，目前在我们期货市场上产生的价格，除了刚才提到的铜以外，大多数还不具有国际代表性。也就是说，我们在定价权方面一直落后于国际市场。

Mr. Zhao cited a "price determination ratio" for China in crude oil of 9%, meaning that 91% of the price of oil is set by market forces unrelated to China. He said the figure came from research he had read and was unable to provide more details. But his point was echoed by other panelists, who said China doesn't have enough power with pricing.

赵磊提到了中国对石油的定价权只有9%，这意味着91%的石油价格由与中国无关的市场力量决定。他说，这个数字是一个研究报告里面得来的，他未能提供任何细节。但是他的观点得到了其他与会人士的认可，他们表示，中国没有足够的定价权。

Where once China worried about how it would actually find supplies of commodities around the world to satisfy its people and growing economy, said Ma Wensheng, chairman of Xinhu Futures Co., the risk today is price. "When the oil futures launch China will gradually increase its influence in the oil price setting, and I'm also confident this will help boost the Chinese economy," said Mr. Ma.

新湖期货公司(Xinhu Futures Co.)董事长马文胜说，中国原油的安全问题不再是供给不足，问题是市场上的价格风险。马文胜说，随着中国推出原油期货，中国将逐渐增加在石油定价方面的影响力，相信这也有助于促进中国经济的发展。