China will finally initiate its pilot programs for margin trading and short selling on Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported. The rollout of the two new investment options – announced by China’s two stock markets in Shanghai and Shenzhen – is designed to prepare domestic investors for the April 16 introduction of stock-index futures, which are considerably more complex and risky. "When learning to swim, one must start in a shallower pool before trying in a deeper one," said analyst Qian Qimin. The six brokerages listed in the first batch of firms approved for short selling are: Guosen Securities, Citic Securities, Haitong Securities, Guotai Junan Securities, GF Securities and Everbright Securities.