China's five-year treasury bond futures opened mixed on Thursday, with the contract for settlement in September 2017 opening 0.010 percent lower at 97.660 yuan (about 14.46 U.S. dollars).

The contract for settlement in December 2017 opened 0.010 percent higher at 97.930 yuan. The contract for settlement in March 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.