Trade-in policy boosts consumption in China

Program drives growth rate of total retail consumer goods sales in Q1

China has continued to expand the scope of its consumer products trade-in programs, and the policy has effectively boosted consumption and promoted sustained economic growth, the Ministry of Commerce said on Friday.

In the first quarter, the trade-in program of consumer products has driven the growth rate of total retail sales of consumer goods in the country by 1.6 percentage points. Over the period, total retail sales of consumer goods in China reached 12.47 trillion yuan ($1.7 trillion), up 4.6 percent year-on-year, showing a trend of steady growth, the ministry said.

"Since the implementation of the trade-in program, more than 120 million consumers have enjoyed the subsidies, and sales of related consumer products reached over 720 billion yuan," said Li Gang, director-general of the department of market operation and consumption promotion at the Ministry of Commerce, during a news conference in Beijing.