China's treasury bond futures closed mixed on Thursday, with the contract for settlement in September 2017 closing 0.03 percent higher at 97.94 yuan (about 14.45 U.S. dollars).

The December 2017 contract closed 0.05 percent higher at 98.015 yuan. The March 2018 contract closed flat at 97.900 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.