A Comprehensive Guide to the New Program Trading Rules

Program trading has officially entered a new stage of strengthened regulation

On August 8, 2025, the Shanghai Futures Exchange, Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange, Dalian Commodity Exchange, China Financial Futures Exchange, and Guangzhou Futures Exchange jointly released their respective Measures for the Administration of Program Trading, which will take effect from October 9, 2025.

The new rules implement the requirements of the "Provisions on the Administration of Program Trading in the Futures Market (Trial)", issued by the China Securities Regulatory Commission in June this year, and comprehensively strengthen the supervision of program trading.

Note: Program trading refers to the act of trading futures on the Exchange through trading orders automatically generated or placed by a computer program..

01 Core of the new rules:a "register before trading" regime

The program trading management measures clearly establish the system of "report first, trade later". Traders in the Exchange shall fulfill the obligation of reporting when their transactions meet one of the specific conditions.

The four categories of traders who are required to report include:

(1) Placing and canceling 10 or more orders within 1 second for 10 or more times on any particular trading day. For the purpose of this rule, accounts linked by actual control relationship are treated as a single client account;

(2) All the critical elements of a trading order such as contract code, buy/sell direction, order size, and order price as well as the timing of such order are automatically determined by a computer program;

(3) Using a self-developed or customized program trading software; or

(4) Falling under other circumstances deemed reportable by the Exchange.

If the information reported by a program trader falls under any of the following circumstances, it shall be deemed a material change and a change report shall be made:

(1) Achange in the trader’s name or the product manager;

(2) A change in the method of order execution, or in the name, basic functions, or developer of the trading software;

(3) For high-frequency traders, a change in the type of trading strategy, the maximum order placement or cancellation frequency, or the maximum daily number of order placements or cancellations;

(4) The cessation of program trading; or

(5) Any other material changes as identified by the CSRC or Exchange.

Program traders shall submit a change report within thirty (30) trading days following the occurrence of such material change.

02 Transition period for the first half of the year, avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach

For participants engaged in program trading before October 9, 2025 (including futures company members[FF Members], overseas special brokerage participants[OSBP], and Overseas Intermediary and traders), the new rules provide a six-month transition period until April 8, 2026.

During the transition period, the relevant entities need to complete three key tasks:

· Before April 8, 2026, Futures companies must enter into a program trading service agreement with each client to set out their rights and obligations and the requirements in relation to reporting and risk management. This applies similarly to any OSBP and Overseas Intermediary that accepts program trading orders from a client.

·Traders must report program trading information in a truthful, accurate, and complete manner through the designated channels. Starting from April 9, 2026, traders who fail to report program trading through the designated channels will not be allowed to engage in program trading.

· For high-frequency traders and clients frequently involved in erroneous orders or other abnormal trading behaviors, INE may require the relevant FF Members and OSBPs to test the IT systems they use for program trading. FF Members and OSBPs may conduct these tests themselves or through a third-party testing agency.

After the transition period ends, starting April 9, 2026, traders who fail to report as required will not be allowed to engage in program trading.

03. Strict supervisory measures

For any program trader that violates applicable rules, INE will order the trader to make corrections and may take additional measures such as sending an alert, requiring the submission of an explanation, arranging a meeting, or restricting the opening of positions. For futures companies who violate the rules, the Exchange may take measures such as issuing verbal reminders, issuing written admonishments, or conducting cautionary interviews.

程序化交易新规全解读

程序化交易正式步入强化监管新阶段

2025年8月8日，上海期货交易所、郑州商品交易所、大连商品交易所、中国金融期货交易所和广州期货交易所同步发布《程序化交易管理办法》,并明确自 2025年10月9日起实施。

新规落实了中国证监会今年6月发布的《期货市场程序化交易管理规定(试行)》的各项要求，全面加强对程序化交易的监管。

注：程序化交易是指通过计算机程序自动生成或者下达交易指令在交易所进行交易的行为。

01新规核心：“先报告、后交易”

程序化交易管理办法明确建立了“先报告、后交易”的制度。交易者在交易所的交易符合特定条件之一的，就应当履行报告义务。

应履行报告义务的四大类交易者包括：

（一）1个交易日内出现10次（含）以上1秒钟内10笔（含）以上报撤单的；

（二）合约代码、买卖方向、委托数量、委托价格等交易指令核心要素以及交易指令的下达时间均由计算机自动决定的 ；

（三）使用自主研发或者其他定制程序化交易软件的

（四）交易所认定的其他需要报告的情形。

程序化交易者已报告信息存在下列情形之一的，属于重大变更，应当进行变更报告：

（一）交易者名称、产品管理人发生变更；

（二）交易指令执行方式和交易软件名称、基本功能、 开发主体发生变更；

（三）高频交易者的交易策略类型、最高报撤单频率、 单日最高报撤单笔数发生变更；

（四）停止进行程序化交易；

（五）中国证监会及交易所认定的其他重大变更情形。

程序化交易者报告信息发生重大变更的，应当在变更发生后30个交易日内进行变更报告。

02半年过渡期，避免“一刀切”

对于2025年10月9日前已经从事程序化交易的相关活动者（期货公司会员、境外特殊经纪参与者、境外中介机构和交易者),新规设置了半年过渡期(至2026年4月8日)

在过渡期内，相关主体需要完成三项关键工作：

· 期货公司应当与客户签订委托协议，约定双方的权利、义务等事项，明确报告管理、风险控制等要求；境外特殊经纪参与者、境外中介机构接受客户程序化交易委托的，参照前述要求执行。

· 交易者应当按照规定路径报告程序化交易信息，真实、准确、完整报告程序化交易信息，自2026年4月9日起，上述交易者未按照规定路径进行程序化交易报告的，不得从事程序化交易。

· 对于高频交易者及频繁发生错单等异常行为的客户，交易所可以要求期货公司会员、境外特殊经纪参与者对其用于程序化交易的技术系统进行测试，期货公司会员、境外特殊经纪参与者可以自行或者委托第三方测试机构进行测试。

过渡期结束后，即2026年4月9日起，未按规定进行报告的交易者将不得从事程序化交易。

03严格的监管措施

对违规的程序化交易者，交易所可采取：责令改正、 要求报告情况、约见谈话、限制开仓等措施。对违规的期 货公司，可采取提示通知、约见谈话、发出警示函、发出意见函等措施。