China promotes large-scale equipment upgrades, trade-in of consumer goods to open up trillion-yuan market

BEIJING - China has pledged a fresh round of large-scale equipment upgrades and trade-in of consumer goods, as part of its efforts to boost domestic demand and support continuous economic growth this year.

An action plan released by the State Council earlier this month said China aims to increase its investment in equipment for industry, agriculture, construction, transportation, education, culture, tourism and medical care by at least 25 percent by 2027, compared with 2023.

As of 2027, the recycling volume of scrapped vehicles is planned to roughly double from the level of 2023, while used car transactions will increase by 45 percent, the plan states. In addition, recycling of used household appliances will increase by 30 percent by 2027 compared with 2023, according to the plan.

The plan specifies 20 key tasks in five sectors, namely equipment renewal, consumer goods trade-in, used goods recycling, standard leveling-up and policy reinforcements, and fiscal and financial support.

As a major manufacturing country promoting new industrialization, China's demand for advanced equipment and equipment upgrades continues to grow, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country's top economic planner.

Initial estimates show that equipment upgrades could create an enormous market with an annual scale of more than 5 trillion yuan (about $704.19 billion), said the NDRC.

According to the action plan, an effort will be made to promote equipment upgrades in the directions of energy conservation and emission reduction, ultra-low emissions, safe production, digital transformation and intelligent upgrading, which is conducive to promoting the high-end, green and intelligent industry and further expanding effective investment.

As a populous country, China's huge automobile, home appliance, and other durable goods markets have led to promising market potential in terms of trade-in of consumer goods.

Continuous market expansion and consumer demand upgrading will open up more development opportunities for enterprises, drive the rapid development of related industries, and promote the upgrading of the economic system, the NDRC said.

In addition, consumer goods trade-in will make high-quality durable consumer goods more accessible for residents and meet diversified consumer needs, the NDRC added.

Official data shows that the total number of home appliances in China currently exceeds 3 billion units, while 2023 alone saw more than 200 million units of home appliances scrapped in the country. China's total automobile sales is estimated to exceed 31 million units in 2024, and trade-in demand will account for about 44 percent of this total.

The upgrade of automobiles and home appliances alone is expected to create a trillion-yuan market, according to the NDRC.