China details 300 bln yuan allocation supporting trade-in campaign

China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Finance on Thursday co-released a 16-point document on how to implement the plan for equipment renewal and trade-in of consumer goods, as officials said the policies will stimulate the consumer market in the second half of the year.

Some 300 billion yuan ($41.58 billion) in funds raised by ultralong treasury bonds will be used to support the campaign, Zhao Chenxin, deputy head of the NDRC, said at a press conference on Thursday, emphasizing that relevant departments are making efforts to complete the fund allocation by the end of August this year.

The document listed various financial support measures for equipment renewal, including granting subsidies for the scrapping of operating ships and vehicles, agricultural machinery based on their capacity and emission volume, and increasing the subsidy for new-energy bus and battery renewal.

In terms of consumer goods, the document listed a detailed plan to support home appliance trade-in by offering subsidies of 15 to 20 percent of the original price of the products. Subsidies for vehicle scrapping will be lifted to 15,000 to 20,000 yuan.

China's cabinet, the State Council, on Mar 13, 2024, released the action plan to promote the large-scale renewal of equipment and the trade-in of consumer goods, which is aimed at bringing more high-quality durable consumer goods into people's lives, smoothing the recycling chain of resources, and significantly improving the quality and level of economic circulation, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

For over four months, the action plan has made positive progress in attracting investment, stimulating consumption potential, improving the recycling system and promoting the green transition, said Zhao, adding that China's investment in equipment and tools increased by 17.3 percent year-on-year, contributing 54.8 percent to overall investment growth in the first half of 2024.

In addition, retail sales of household appliances and audio-visual equipment of enterprises with annual income of no less than 5 million yuan increased by 3.1 percent year-on-year, with the growth rate accelerating by 2.1 percentage points compared to the same period last year, Zhao revealed at the press conference.