China's five-year treasury bond futures opened lower on Thursday, with the contract for settlement in December 2017 opening 0.06 percent lower at 96.61 yuan (about 14.57 U.S. dollars).

The contract for settlement in March 2018 opened 0.03 percent lower at 96.92 yuan. The contract for settlement in June 2018 had no trading at opening.

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.