China's five-year treasury bond futures opened lower on Friday, with the contract for settlement in June 2016 opened 0.005 percent lower at 100.900 yuan (about 16.49 U.S. dollars).

The contract for settlement in September 2016 opened 0.025 percent lower at 99.955 yuan. The contract for settlement in December 2016 opened 0.030 percent lower at 99.305 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.