250 billion in special national bonds support old-for-new exchanges, "real money" boosts consumption

Source: 21st Century Business Herald 21 Finance App Author: Zhang Xu

At 9:00 a.m. on March 5, the opening session of the fourth session of the 14th National People’s Congress was held at the Great Hall of the People. Premier Li Qiang, on behalf of the State Council, delivered the Government Work Report to the fourth session of the 14th National People’s Congress.

The 2026 Government Work Report proposes to expand and upgrade goods consumption, and set aside RMB 250 billion in ultra-long-term special government bonds to support trade-in and replacement for consumer goods, while optimizing the policy implementation mechanism. A special fund of RMB 100 billion will be established for fiscal and financial coordination to boost domestic demand, and a combination of measures such as loan interest subsidies, financing guarantees, and risk compensation will be used to support the expansion of domestic demand.

Consumption is the main engine for driving economic growth. In 2025, China fully implemented special actions to boost consumption. The scale of the consumer market continued to grow steadily. The total retail sales of consumer goods by society for the first time exceeded RMB 50 trillion, and consumption’s contribution rate to economic growth reached 52%.

Since 2026, the trade-in and replacement policy for consumer goods has been rolled out across the board and has targeted efforts with precision. It covers key areas such as automobiles, home appliances, digital products, and intelligent products, effectively unlocking market consumption potential and helping the consumer market get off to a good start. Localities have also introduced supporting measures one after another, further refining and implementing plans to enable the trade-in and replacement policy to deliver greater effects.

On February 14, Henan released the “Implementation Plan of Henan Province for Promoting Large-Scale Equipment Upgrades and Trade-in and Replacement for Consumer Goods in 2026,” proposing that by the end of 2026, it will strive to complete approximately 500,000 vehicle scrappage and replacement updates for individual consumers, and approximately 5 million home appliance units for trade-in and replacement. Starting from February 9, Beijing implemented a new subsidy plan for automobile trade-in and replacement, with the maximum subsidy amount up to RMB 20,000.

With policies such as trade-in and replacement helping, during the Spring Festival, Guangdong’s consumer market saw growth in multiple areas. The consumption structure continued to improve, with both supply and demand for services remaining strong. Retail revenue from daily household appliances such as robotic vacuum cleaners increased by 137.9% year over year. Retail sales revenue of communication devices such as smartphones rose by 53.1% year over year. Retail sales of new energy vehicles increased by 46.8%, indicating a clear trend toward upgrading residents’ consumption.

According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, as of February 23, 2026’s trade-in and replacement program for consumer goods benefited 31.127 million person-times, driving sales of RMB 207.03 billion. Demand for intelligent and green products has been strong. As of February 5, 2026, applications for automobile trade-in and replacement subsidies reached 335,000, driving new car sales of RMB 53.77 billion.

On March 2, the 2026 National Consumption Promotion Month and the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Consumption Season were launched in Tianjin. The Ministry of Commerce said that the 2026 National Consumption Promotion Month and the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Consumption Season, as a key special activity under “Buy in China,” will further optimize the implementation of the trade-in and replacement policy for consumer goods, deepen new business forms, new models, and new scenarios for consumption, expand the supply of quality goods and services, and promote first-release economy, healthy consumption, green consumption, and intelligent consumption. It will also advance the integration of consumption across business trips, travel, culture, and sports in more scenarios, better meeting diversified and quality-focused consumer needs.

The trade-in and replacement policy is an important part of expanding domestic demand and boosting consumption. On March 4, Lu Qinjian, spokesperson for the fourth session of the 14th National People’s Congress, said that this year, we will adhere to expanding domestic demand as the strategic fulcrum, vigorously boost consumption, and advance the development of a strong domestic market.

On the one hand, expand the supply of high-quality consumer goods and services. Carry out actions to improve and benefit people through upgrading service consumption, and accelerate the cultivation of new growth points in service consumption; optimize the trade-in and replacement policy for consumer goods to promote the expansion and upgrading of goods consumption; create an internationalized consumption environment, enrich consumption scenarios, and hold the “Buy in China” series of activities well.

On the other hand, adhere to closely combining benefiting people’s livelihoods with boosting consumption. Promote high-quality employment, formulate and implement plans to increase income for urban and rural residents, and enhance residents’ consumption capacity. Steadily advance equalization of basic public services, improve the education, childcare, elderly care, and medical security systems, and reduce residents’ worries about their consumption “afterward.”

“This year, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress will conduct oversight on building a unified domestic market, and on solidly promoting comprehensive rural revitalization, among other matters, and will formulate laws such as a social assistance law, a medical security law, and a childcare services law, to push for more resources to be投入 into the people’s livelihood areas, so that the people can consume, dare to consume, and are willing to consume.”

(Editor: Wen Jing)

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