ZHENGZHOU, June 25 (Xinhua) -- China's Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange said it will promote the introduction of qualified overseas traders in the trading of cotton futures.

The exchange listed the goal in a recently-issued white paper on cotton futures.

As the world's largest producer, consumer and exporter of textile, China listed cotton futures on the exchange in June 2004 to help cotton-related enterprises hedge the price risk. Since 2004, a daily average of 144,000 lots (5 tonnes per lot) have been traded.

The exchange said it will seek further opening up to increase its international influence, study international regulations and rules on cotton futures, and seek to involve overseas traders.

Currently, overseas traders participate in the trading of crude oil, iron ores and PTA futures.

Statistics show that China produced over 6 million tonnes of cotton last year.