China's five-year treasury bond futures closed higher on Wednesday, with the contract for settlement in December closing 0.22 percent higher at 101.47 yuan (about 14.72 U.S. dollars).

The March 2017 contract closed 0.28 percent higher at 100.69 yuan. The June 2017 contract closed 0.27 percent higher at 100.3 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.