Xinjiang's first staple aluminum products trading center officially started business on Nov 18 when its first goods were sold.
The products were 2,793 tons and 200 tons respectively of aluminum oxide and electrolytic aluminum, at costs of 2,780 yuan ($403) and 14,210 yuan per ton.
Xinjiang has abundant staple commodity resources. For instance, it has 20 percent of China's electrolytic aluminum production capacity. Before the trading center opened in the Urumqi Economic and Technological Development Zone on April 18,such high production sadly lacked the large-scale spot goods trading venue needed to create significant income for Xinjiang.
"Xinjiang produced six million tons of electrolytic aluminum in 2015, strengthening the region's status as China's and perhaps the world's major production venue of that product," said Wang Shengqian, deputy secretary general of Xinjiang.
He added that the trading center will be a great benefit for the autonomous region’s aluminum industry.
"The zone will improve the center’s basic infrastructure and enact more preferential policies for it," said Xue Jihai, the zone's district secretary.
Wang Donghai, the center’s general manager, said that the center will hopefully raise China's voice in staple commodity pricing, an advantage every country wants.