Trading in Chinese government bond futures started Friday after an 18-year hiatus.

Relaunching government bond futures is a breakthrough in China's financial reform. However, we should be rational regarding its influence, as the financial derivative is still in its initial stage.

Currently, the government bond futures mainly act as a hedge tool for interest rate risks. Its influence in promoting market-based interest rates is limited, as commercial banks - the major participants in interest rate liberalization - are not allowed to trade government bond futures yet.

At the same time, government bond futures are unlikely to affect the stock market in the short term. For one thing, the scale of the government bond futures market is relatively small. Also, the stock market is dominated by retail investors while government bond futures are mostly traded by institutions.

The author is Yan Yue, a media personality.