In Dalian, a city in Northeast China known for steel and ships, the city’s tallest building is not a bank or a mill – it is the Dalian Commodities Exchange.

As China has emerged as the global driver for commodities, the prices of goods from cotton to copper are increasingly set by market fundamentals in China. However, China’s commodities exchanges do not yet play a similar global role, and they are limited by laws banning foreign participation as well as China’s renminbi capital controls.

Yet as the 53-storey, white marble tower of the Dalian Commodities Exchange suggests, China’s futures exchanges are ambitious and hungry to extend their reach. They are rolling out new products, building new buildings, educating the public about the value of hedging, and seeking to build a profile commensurate with China’s status as a commodities heavyweight.