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

Source: 21st Century Economic Report 21 Finance APP Author: Zhang Xu

On the morning of March 5, at 9 a.m., the fourth session of the 14th National People’s Congress held its opening meeting 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 government work report for 2026 proposed to promote the expansion and upgrading of commodity consumption, arranging special long-term bonds of 250 billion yuan to support the replacement of old consumer goods, and optimizing the policy implementation mechanism. A special fund of 100 billion yuan for fiscal and financial collaboration to boost domestic demand will be established, utilizing methods such as loan interest subsidies, financing guarantees, and risk compensation to support the expansion of domestic demand.

Consumption is the main engine driving economic growth. In 2025, China will deeply implement special actions to stimulate consumption, steadily expanding the scale of the consumer market, with the total retail sales of consumer goods surpassing 50 trillion yuan for the first time, and consumption contributing 52% to economic growth.

Since 2026, the old-for-new policy for consumer goods has been fully implemented and precisely targeted, covering key areas such as automobiles, home appliances, digital, and smart products, effectively activating market consumption potential and promoting a good start for the consumer market. Various regions have also introduced supporting measures, detailing implementation plans to enhance the effectiveness of the old-for-new policy.

On February 14, Henan released the “Implementation Plan for Promoting Large-Scale Equipment Upgrades and the Old-for-New Replacement of Consumer Goods in Henan Province in 2026,” proposing to strive to complete the scrapping and replacement of approximately 500,000 passenger vehicles and the replacement of about 5 million old home appliances by the end of 2026. Starting from February 9, Beijing implemented a new subsidy scheme for the old-for-new replacement of automobiles, with a maximum subsidy amount of 20,000 yuan.

With the support of policies such as the old-for-new program, the consumption market in Guangdong flourished during the Spring Festival, with a continuous optimization of the consumption structure and strong supply and demand for service consumption. Retail sales of daily household appliances such as robotic vacuum cleaners increased by 137.9% year-on-year, retail sales of communication devices such as smartphones increased by 53.1% year-on-year, sales of new energy vehicles increased by 46.8% year-on-year, and the trend of resident consumption upgrading is evident.

According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, as of February 23, 2026, the old-for-new policy for consumer goods has benefited 31.127 million people, driving sales of 207.03 billion yuan. The demand for smart and green products is strong. As of February 5, 2026, applications for the old-for-new automobile subsidy reached 335,000, driving new car sales of 53.77 billion yuan.

On March 2, 2026, the National Consumption Promotion Month and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Consumption Season were launched in Tianjin. The Ministry of Commerce stated that the National Consumption Promotion Month and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Consumption Season in 2026, as a key thematic activity of “Buy in China,” will further optimize the implementation of the old-for-new policy for consumer goods, deepen new business forms, new models, and new scenarios in consumption, expand the supply of high-quality goods and services, promote the first-release economy, healthy consumption, green consumption, and smart consumption, and drive the integration of business, travel, culture, and sports to better meet diverse and quality consumption needs.

The old-for-new policy is an important part of expanding domestic demand and boosting consumption. On March 4, spokesperson for the fourth session of the 14th National People’s Congress, Lou Qinjian, pointed out that this year, we will adhere to the strategic baseline of expanding domestic demand, vigorously boost consumption, and promote the construction of a strong domestic market.

On one hand, expand the supply of high-quality consumer goods and services. Implement actions to improve service consumption and benefit the public, accelerate the cultivation of new growth points in service consumption; optimize the old-for-new policy for consumer goods, promoting the expansion and upgrading of commodity consumption; create an international consumption environment, enrich consumption scenarios, and organize a series of “Buy in China” activities effectively.

On the other hand, closely integrate benefiting the public and promoting consumption. Promote high-quality employment, formulate and implement income increase plans for urban and rural residents, and enhance residents’ consumption capacity. Steadily promote the equalization of basic public services, improve education, childcare, elderly care, and medical security systems, and reduce residents’ concerns about consumption.

“This year, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress will supervise aspects such as building a unified domestic market, solidly advancing comprehensive rural revitalization, and formulate laws on social assistance, medical security, and childcare services, promoting the allocation of more resources to the people’s livelihood field, enabling the public to consume, dare to consume, and be willing to consume.”