9 January 2025

The Chinese government has expanded the list of products that people can trade in to get a discount of up to 20% on new products as the country tries to boost its faltering economy.

The list now includes items such as microwaves, dishwashers, rice cookers, and water purifiers.

State-backed trade-in schemes have already covered televisions, phones, tablets and smart watches as well as electric and hybrid vehicles.

The world's second-largest economy faces many challenges, including weak consumer demand and a worsening real estate crisis.

Officials said on Wednesday that 81 billion yuan (£8.9 billion, $11 billion) had been allocated this year to the consumer goods trade programme.

China's top economic planning body said the schemes, launched in March, had already produced “obvious effects”.

According to the country's Ministry of Commerce, the policies have boosted sales of large goods such as household appliances and cars.

But some economists questioned whether the schemes would be enough to significantly increase consumer consumption.

“This approach has had mixed success so far,” said Harry Murphy Cruz, head of China economics at Moody's Analytics.

“Although it supported sales of some listed goods, such as cars and appliances, it did not lead to an overall increase in spending.”

In recent months, China has moved forward with more measures to support its domestic economy as the country's exporters face increasing challenges.

In December, an important meeting of Chinese leaders stressed the need for “active” efforts to boost consumer spending.

This came as President-elect Donald Trump, who is set to return to the White House this month, threatened to impose 60% tariffs on Chinese-made products.

Next week, China is scheduled to announce economic growth figures for 2024, which Beijing said it expects to be around 5%.

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