China's five-year treasury bond futures opened flat on Monday, with the contract for settlement in September 2017 opening flat at 97.3 yuan (about 14.5 U.S. dollars).

The contract for settlement in December 2017 opened flat at 97.5 yuan. The contract for settlement in March 2018 opened at 97.6 yuan, slightly lower from the previous close.

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.