China's five-year treasury bond futures opened mixed on Tuesday, with the contract for settlement in June 2016 opened 0.173 percent lower at 100.920 yuan (about 15.34 U.S. dollars).

The contract for settlement in September 2016 opened 0.015 percent lower at 100.170 yuan. The contract for settlement in December 2016 opened 0.020 percent higher at 99.675 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.