Crude oil futures will be traded in Shanghai's pilot free trade zone within the year, Zheng Yang, director of the Shanghai Financial Services Office, said on Tuesday.

The Shanghai Futures Exchange launched the International Energy Trade Center in the FTZ in November as a platform for long-awaited crude oil futures trading.

Foreign investors are presently allowed to invest in China's capital market through a quota system known as Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor, but not allowed to trade commodities futures. The crude oil futures market is expected to draw participation from foreign investors, in a bid to lift China's influence in global oil pricing.

Zheng said the Shanghai Gold Exchange and Shanghai Stock Exchange also plan to establish international trading platforms in the zone.