China's five-year treasury bond futures opened lower on Tuesday, with the contract for settlement in December 2017 opening 0.04 percent lower at 97.62 yuan (about 15 U.S. dollars).

The contract for settlement in March 2018 opened 0.04 percent lower at 97.7 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.