More than 7.9 mln Chinese consumers apply for electronic products trade-in subsidies

A total of around 7.92 million Chinese consumers have applied for subsidies to trade in their old electronic products and purchase new ones since Monday, as the country continues to implement pro-consumption policies aimed at boosting consumer spending in 2025, the Ministry of Commerce announced on Friday.

These subsidy applications target around 10.79 million units of electronic products such as mobile phones, Vice Commerce Minister Sheng Qiuping told a press conference.

China has also received a total of 34,000 applications for subsidies for automobile trade-ins in 2025, while 844,000 consumers have purchased about 1.04 million units of home appliances through trade-in programs as of Thursday, Sheng said.

Earlier this month, the country announced a raft of measures to expand the scope of the consumer goods trade-in program. These measures include increasing the number of home appliance categories eligible for government subsidies from eight in 2024 to 12 in 2025, as well as offering subsidies of up to 500 yuan (US$69.73) apiece for purchases of digital products.

The ministry has vowed to optimize subsidy approval and distribution process, and deepen pilot reforms in the circulation of second-hand goods, the recycling of renewable resources, and automotive circulation and consumption, to promote greater success in the consumer goods trade-in program.