China's equipment upgrade, consumer goods trade-in programs deliver fruitful results in 2024

BEIJING -- China's large-scale equipment upgrade and consumer goods trade-in programs yielded fruitful results last year, driving strong growth in both investment and consumption, official data showed on Monday.

The programs, which kicked off last March, drove equipment purchases and investment up by 15.7 percent in 2024, contributing 67.6 percent to overall investment growth, and boosted sales of bulk durable consumer goods by over 1.3 trillion yuan ($181 billion), according to the National Development and Reform Commission.

Equipment upgrades and sales of green products have saved energy equivalent to approximately 28 million tons of standard coal, and reduced carbon dioxide emissions by about 73 million tons, the commission noted.

In 2024, over 37 million consumers purchased more than 62 million eligible home appliances, with total sales reaching 270 billion yuan. Items at the highest level of energy efficiency accounted for over 90 percent of the total sales revenue.

In the auto sector, more than 6.8 million vehicles were traded in for new ones, driving sales by 920 billion yuan. Over 60 percent of consumers opted for new energy vehicles.

To maintain this momentum, China last month announced a raft of measures to expand the scope of its consumer goods trade-in program, including new subsidies for electronic product trade-ins, as well as an increased number of categories on its trade-in list for eligible home appliances.