China's treasury bond futures closed mixed on Monday, with the contract for settlement in September down 0.19 percent to 97.78 yuan (about 14.4 U.S. dollars).

The December contract closed 0.15 percent lower at 97.84 yuan. The March 2018 contract were flat at 97.98 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.