A: Forward contract refers to a written agreement between buyers and sellers to buy and sell a certain quantity and quality of financial assets or physical assets at a certain price in the future, which mainly includes forward spot contract, forward interest rate agreement, forward foreign exchange contract and forward stock contract. The main legal features of a forward contract are as follows: (1) There are no uniform standards and specifications for contract elements such as the amount, quantity, delivery date and method of a forward contract, which are determined by the parties themselves through consultation without the approval or recognition of the regulatory authorities. (2) The forward contract is an over-the-counter transaction, and both parties definitely understand each other and reach an agreement through direct negotiation. (3) The lack of guarantees provided by exchanges and clearing institutions has greatly increased the credit risk faced by forward contract exchanges. In order to ensure the security of the transaction, both sides of the transaction are required to better understand each other's credit and financial status. In practice, credit transactions are usually used. Whether to use security and what kind of security, such as mortgage and deposit, are entirely up to the parties themselves. (four) the settlement of forward contract transactions can be carried out through settlement institutions or by the parties themselves. (5) The parties generally have real demand for the subject matter of the forward contract, whether it is commodities such as agricultural products or financial assets such as securities, and the purpose of the transaction is to obtain the ownership of the subject matter. The parties usually perform the contract by actual delivery, and make delivery or payment when due.