China's treasury bond futures closed lower on Thursday, with the September contract closing 0.19 percent lower at 97.8 yuan (about 14.3 U.S. dollars).

The December contract lost 0.11 percent to close at 97.9 yuan while the March 2018 contract lost 0.17 percent to close at 97.8 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.