China's treasury bond futures closed higher on Thursday, with the contract for settlement in September 2017 closing 0.133 percent higher at 97.800 yuan (about 14.45 U.S. dollars).

The December 2017 contract closed 0.082 percent higher at 98.000 yuan. The contract for settlement in March 2018 closed flat at 97.940 yuan.

The contracts are agreements to buy or sell treasury bonds at a predetermined price and set date. They allow investors to bet on and profit from the movements in the value of the bonds.

The treasury bond futures were launched at the Shanghai-based China Financial Futures Exchange and started trading on Sept. 6, 2013.