The Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) is developing futures contracts pegged to AI tokens, aiming to help enterprises hedge against fluctuating costs in China's rapidly growing AI economy. By March 2026, China's daily AI token usage reached 140 trillion, prompting the need for financial instruments to stabilize enterprise budgeting. These futures contracts will allow companies to lock in prices for AI tokens, which are used every time an AI model processes input and output data. The SHFE's initiative is distinct from US proposals, focusing on AI tokens for pricing services rather than raw compute power. This development comes amid heightened US-China AI competition, making enterprise AI spending a strategic concern. While the project is in early design stages with no set timeline for regulatory approval, it represents a significant step in managing AI-related costs for Chinese companies.