China encourages' trade in 'to boost domestic demand

According to a report by World News Network on January 15th, China recently announced subsidies for purchasing new mobile phones and tablets, as well as a work arrangement for exchanging old appliances for new ones this year, which will be implemented nationwide from January 20th. Among them, the maximum subsidy for each mobile phone is 500 yuan, and the maximum subsidy for each household appliance is 2000 yuan

On the afternoon of January 15th, Li Gang, Director General of the Market Operation and Consumption Promotion Department of the Ministry of Commerce of China, announced at a press conference of the State Council Information Office that the central government has recently allocated the first batch of funds of 81 billion yuan for the trade in of consumer goods by 2025. This week, the Ministry of Commerce will gradually issue the implementation rules for the 2025 subsidy for the exchange of old cars, home appliances, home decoration, and electric bicycles, as well as the purchase of new digital products such as mobile phones

The official website of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce subsequently released the "Implementation Plan for Subsidies for Purchasing New Mobile Phones, Tablets, and Smart Watches (Bracelets)" and the "Notice on Doing a Good Job in the 2025 Home Appliance Trade in Work" in the evening

Among them, individual consumers who purchase three types of digital products (mobile phones, tablets, smart watches (bracelets)) (with a single selling price not exceeding 6000 yuan) can enjoy a purchase subsidy. Each person can receive one subsidy per category, and the subsidy ratio for each item is 15% of the final sales price after deducting all discounts from production, distribution, and mobile operators. The maximum subsidy for each item is 500 yuan

Secondly, subsidies will be provided to individual consumers for purchasing 12 types of household appliances, including refrigerators, washing machines, televisions, air conditioners, computers, water heaters, household stoves, range hoods, water purifiers, dishwashers, rice cookers, and microwave ovens, that meet or exceed energy efficiency or water efficiency standards of level 2. The subsidy standard is 15% of the final sales price of the above-mentioned products. For products that purchase energy efficiency or water efficiency standards of level 1 or above, an additional subsidy of 5% of the final sales price will be given. Each consumer can receive a subsidy of 1 item per product category (up to a maximum of 3 items for air conditioning products), with a maximum subsidy of 2000 yuan per item

According to a report by Agence France Presse on January 16th, Beijing hopes that subsidies for rice cookers, microwaves, and smartphones can boost consumption and help China withstand the economic storm that the incoming US President Trump may bring

Chinese policy makers have been working hard to encourage consumers to inject funds into the economy. Last week, they expanded their subsidy program for ordinary household items, covering everything from water purifiers and refrigerators to laptops and electric vehicles

According to reports, outside a shopping center in Sanlitun, one of the most popular commercial districts in Beijing, 25-year-old Li Ling said that this policy can serve as an "incentive"

She said, "If people's budgets are not very abundant, such policies can help them make shopping decisions." According to the expanded subsidy plan, people can enjoy up to 20% subsidies on products such as microwaves, water purifiers, dishwashers, and rice cookers, and the national subsidy can reach up to 2000 yuan

Smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches, among other electronic products, are now receiving subsidies of up to 15%

According to reports, shopper Yang Boyun said he recently took advantage of this new subsidy. "I bought three millet air conditioners," he said. Chinese experts interviewed by Sputnik News Agency pointed out that these policies significantly stimulate specific consumer groups and are one of the important measures to stimulate domestic demand

The introduction of national subsidy policies has attracted widespread attention on Chinese social media platforms. On the short video platform Tiktok, the video related to "national compensation" was played 1.4 billion times. In the video, many young people queue up to buy mobile phones, and many others share in the comment section how to use national subsidies to buy affordable electronic products

Young people interviewed by Sputnik News Agency showed great interest in the national subsidy policy. Young man Zhou Hua, who originally planned to replace his phone and tablet for himself and his family during this year's 618 shopping festival, took advantage of this discount policy to replace three devices in advance. She stated that the unprecedented subsidy prompted her to implement her shopping plan ahead of schedule

Associate Professor Li Kai from Shanxi University of Finance and Economics stated that the large-scale equipment updates and trade in policies for consumer goods launched by China this time have a certain incentive effect on some consumers and are expected to stimulate domestic demand to a certain extent. He also pointed out that to fundamentally alleviate the problem of insufficient domestic demand, more comprehensive measures are still needed