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 of the State Council, 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 expanding and upgrading consumer spending on goods, allocating 250 billion yuan in ultra-long special treasury bonds to support the trade-in of consumer goods for new ones, and optimizing the policy implementation mechanism. It will establish a 100 billion yuan fiscal and financial coordinated special fund for stimulating domestic demand, and use a combination of measures such as loan interest subsidies, financing guarantees, and risk compensation to support expanding domestic demand.

Consumption is the main engine driving economic growth. In 2025, China carried out special actions to boost consumption in depth. The scale of the consumer market continued to expand steadily. The total retail sales of consumer goods by society exceeded 50 trillion yuan for the first time, and the contribution rate of consumption to economic growth reached 52%.

Since 2026, the policies on trading in old for new for consumer goods have been fully implemented and targeted effectively, covering key areas such as automobiles, home appliances, digital and smart products, and more. They have effectively unleashed the consumer market’s potential and helped the consumer market start off well. Localities have also rolled out supporting measures one after another, further refining and implementing plans to make the trade-in program generate even greater effects.

On February 14, Henan released the “Implementation Plan of Henan Province for Promoting Large-Scale Equipment Upgrades and Trading in Old for New for Consumer Goods in 2026,” proposing that by the end of 2026 it will strive to complete the scrappage and replacement renewal of about 500k vehicles for individual consumers and about 5 million units of home appliances through the trade-in program. Starting from February 9, Beijing has implemented a new subsidy scheme for trading in old for new automobiles, with the maximum subsidy amount reaching 20k yuan.

With policies such as trade-in for new purchases helping, during the Spring Festival, Guangdong’s consumer market saw growth in multiple sectors, its consumption structure continued to improve, and both supply and demand for service consumption were strong. Daily retail revenue of household appliances such as robotic floor cleaners increased by 137.9% year over year; retail sales revenue of communication devices such as smartphones increased by 53.1% year over year; retail sales of new energy vehicles increased by 46.8% year over year. The trend of residents upgrading consumption has become evident.

Data from the Ministry of Commerce shows that as of February 23, 2026, the trade-in of old for new for consumer goods had benefited 500k people, driving sales of 500k yuan. Demand for smart and green products has been strong. As of February 5, 2026, applications for subsidies for trading in old for new automobiles reached 335k submissions, driving new car sales of 53.77 billion yuan.

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 of old for new policies, deepen new consumer business formats, new models, and new scenarios, expand the supply of quality goods and services, and promote initial-offering-based economy, healthy consumption, green consumption, and smart consumption. It will also facilitate the integration of more scenarios across business travel, culture, and sports, better meeting diversified and quality-focused consumer needs.

The trade-in of old for new policies are an important component of expanding domestic demand and boosting consumption. On March 4, Lou Qinjian, spokesperson for the fourth session of the 14th National People’s Congress, said that this year, China will adhere to the strategic cornerstone of expanding domestic demand, strongly boost consumption, and advance efforts to build a strong domestic market.

On the one hand, expand the supply of quality consumer goods and services. Implement actions to improve the quality of service consumption and benefit the people, and accelerate the cultivation of new growth points in service consumption; optimize the trade-in of old for new policies for consumer goods to promote an expansion and upgrade of goods consumption; and create an international consumer environment, enrich consumer scenarios, and hold the “Buy in China” series of activities.

On the other hand, firmly uphold the close integration of benefiting people’s livelihoods and promoting consumption. Promote high-quality employment, formulate and implement plans to increase income for urban and rural residents, and enhance residents’ consumption capacity. Steadily advance the equalization of basic public services, improve the education, childcare, eldercare, and medical security systems, and reduce residents’ worries about aftereffects of consumption.

“This year, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee will conduct supervision on building a unified domestic market and solidly advancing comprehensive rural revitalization, among other areas. It will draft laws such as the Social Assistance Law, the Medical Security Law, and the Childcare Services Law, and promote 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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