Economic Watch: China’s equipment, consumer goods renewal program fuels market vitality

BEIJING, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) — China has achieved significant progress in advancing large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins, boosting both investment and consumption.
China unveiled an action plan to implement the renewal program in March this year to expand domestic demand and shore up the economy, and stepped up policy support in July with an extra funds injection of 300 billion yuan (about 42.73 billion U.S. dollars) via ultra-long special treasury bonds.
From Monday to Wednesday, the country’s authorities held three press conferences in a row to present a comprehensive overview of the program, underscoring the government’s commitment to revitalize the super-large market.
According to Zhao Chenxin, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), all the treasury bonds have been fully allocated to projects and local governments, with all supportive policies already in place.
The program has yielded significant progress, effectively driving investment growth, unleashing consumption potential, improving people’s welfare, and propelling industrial development along with the country’s green transition drive.
INVESTMENT BOOST
Half of the ultra-long special treasury bonds to support equipment upgrades have been distributed to over 4,600 projects, and such support will cover projects with a total investment of 800 billion yuan this year, said NDRC official Liu Dechun.
“Positive progress has been recorded in key areas of equipment upgrades, increasingly contributing to growth stabilization and industrial transformation,” Liu noted.
In the first eight months of this year, investment in equipment and tool purchases grew by 16.8 percent year on year, and 4.21 million scrapped vehicles were recycled nationwide, up 42.4 percent and accounting for over 90 percent of the total amount last year.
During this period, fixed-asset investment in municipal utility and construction sector expanded 23.5 percent and 21.6 percent, respectively, Liu said, adding that there are already plans to use the treasury bonds to upgrade over 40,000 residential elevators that have been in service for more than 15 years.
Policies are also actively supporting renewals and upgrades of energy-inefficient and high-emitting equipment, with over 500 energy-related projects backed by the treasury bonds this year, Liu said.
This overhaul will save around 3 million tonnes of standard coal annually and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 8 million tonnes, according to the official.
Liu pledged further efforts to leverage the policies and funding to deliver benefits to more businesses and promote high-end, intelligent and green industrial development while accelerating the green transition.
CONSUMPTION PICKUP
Given that over 3 billion units of home appliances and more than 300 million vehicles are in use across China, the potential for their renewals are tremendous, NDRC official Wen Hua said.
Since the renewal program kicked off in March, automobile consumption has exhibited notable growth. Citing data from the China Automobile Dealers Association, Wen said the retail sales of passenger vehicles and new energy autos increased 10.8 percent and 17 percent month on month, respectively, in August.
Home appliance sales have also rebounded significantly. In August, official data reported a 3.4 percent rise year on year in retail sales of household appliances and audiovisual equipment, ending a decline.
Meanwhile, the trade-in program has indirectly spurred investment and profitability in related sectors, Wen said, noting that from January to August, investment in consumer goods manufacturing expanded by 14.9 percent.
Looking ahead, efforts will be made to fully implement the supportive policies and leverage the special treasury bonds for the equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins, in a bid to extend policy benefits to more consumers, enhance living standards, and accelerate the green transition of development, Wen said. ■