Trade-in action plan can help boost growth and cut emissions

The State Council, China's Cabinet, recently issued an action plan on large-scale equipment upgrading and the trade-in of consumer goods. Promoting large-scale equipment upgrading and the trade-in of consumer goods can continuously increase the production capacity and market for more high-quality and durable consumer goods. In this way, both consumption and investment will be encouraged, production efficiency improved, energy saved and carbon emissions reduced.

Also aimed at promoting recycling and reuse, the action plan specifies the improvement of the recycling network for scrapped products and equipment. By 2027, the number of scrapped cars whose usable materials and components can be recycled is expected to double compared to 2023, while the amount of recycled scrapped household appliances is expected to grow by 30 percent compared to 2023. Proper disposal and recycling of retired equipment and various types of waste products are conducive to improving the efficient utilization of resources, and cutting carbon emissions.

The aforementioned action plan proposes to support eligible equipment renewal projects with the government budget and to introduce preferential policies for digital and intelligent transformation. This will further expand the coverage of the policy benefits, effectively reduce enterprise investment costs, and greatly enhance the enthusiasm and willingness of enterprises to undertake equipment renewal.

Regarding the trade-in of consumer goods, it is necessary to organize and carry out trade-in activities in stages and by product category to create a vibrant and continuously bursting consumer market atmosphere. With convenience and affordability as the guiding principles, various policy tools such as consumption subsidies, consumption vouchers and interest subsidies for consumption loans should be actively promoted. The advantages of internet platforms should be leveraged, policy application processes should be simplified, and special attention should be paid to the needs of the elderly and rural residents, so that all residents will be encouraged to trade in their consumer goods for new models.

XINHUA NEWS AGENCY