The Shanghai Futures Exchange, the country's leading commodities market, is expected to launch after-hours trading before the end of the year, in a critical step to gain a foothold in global futures trading.

The exchange will further boost its international ambitions by expanding the list of futures contracts in the coming years, including crude oil - one of the world's most important commodities - said Yang Maijun, general manager of the exchange.

"We are actively making preparations and hope to roll out night trading this year," Yang, a national legislator from Shanghai, said on the sidelines of the first session of the 12th National People's Congress.