The bonded copper futures contract which is open to foreign traders started trading at the Shanghai International Energy Exchange on Thursday, marking another major opening-up milestone in China's financial market.

The new product, which is also referred to as the international copper futures, will be traded on the basis of "international platform, net pricing, bonded delivery and renminbi denomination" to fully engage overseas traders.

Institutional investors with a balance of no less than 100,000 yuan ($15,240) or equivalent foreign currency balance in their respective margin account for five consecutive business days are allowed to apply for a trading code or trading access for the bonded futures contract. Individuals meeting the same margin account requirement will also have eligibility to apply for the trading access.

An overseas individual trader may trade bonded copper futures through a futures firm member of the INE or an overseas broker.

Major overseas trading platforms including CQG, Tradex and Bloomberg now have access to bonded copper futures at INE.

It is another futures product launched in China that is accessible to foreign investors, following crude oil, iron ore, technically specified rubber 20 and low-sulfur fuel oil futures.

According to World Bureau of Metal Statistics, the world's total consumption of copper reached 23.82 million metric tons in 2019. The top five consumers were China, the United States, Japan, Germany and South Korea, accounting for 72.32 percent of the global total.