(Yicai) Dec. 31 -- China has adjusted its trade-in subsidy program for consumer goods to include smart glasses for the first time in its third year in 2026, expecting to drive the rapid popularization of the product.

The Chinese government will continue to offer subsidies for car scrapping and replacement, home appliance trade-in and buying new digital products, including phones, tablets, smart watches and bracelets, smart glasses, and other smart home products starting tomorrow, according to policy measures jointly released by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance yesterday.

In addition, the NDRC and the finance ministry said that CNY62.5 billion (USD8.9 billion) in ultra-long special treasury bond funds will be allocated in advance to support the trade-ins of consumer goods for 2026.

Adding smart glasses to the trade-in subsidy program aims to promote product innovation and cultivate the market, Liu Chuang, a senior researcher at tech industry research agency Runto Technology, told Yicai. The move will likely accelerate the maturity of the supply chain and boost the product's shift from novelty to widespread adoption, Liu added.

China's smart glasses shipments surged 62 percent to 623,000 units last quarter from a year ago, according to the latest statistics from International Data Corporation. Deliveries of glasses with audio and photo functions soared 79 percent to 454,000 units, while those of augmented reality and virtual reality glasses jumped 29 percent to 169,000 units.

Smart glasses shipments in China are expected to top 4.5 million units next year, with those of products with audio and photo functions reaching 3.4 million units and the rest being AR and VR models, IDC said.

China introduced the national subsidy policies last year to speed the economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic, allocating CNY300 billion (USD42.5 billion) of ultra-long-term special treasury bonds to fund them, split 50-50 between equipment renewals and consumer goods trade-ins.

This year, the government lifted the special treasury bond quotas for equipment to CNY200 billion and for consumer goods to CNY300 billion, while expanding coverage to include digital products such as phones and tablets.

In the first 11 months of this year, the trade-in program helped push consumer goods sales past CNY2.5 trillion (USD354.2 billion) and benefited 360 million consumers, according to commerce ministry data. Subsidies underpinned the purchase of 11.2 million vehicles, 128.4 million home appliances, and 90.2 million digital products.

For next year, home appliances subsidies will continue to cover refrigerators, washing machines, televisions, air conditioners, computers, and water heaters, but stoves, microwaves, and several other categories will be removed. In addition, only products with a Level 1 energy label, or those with the highest energy efficiency, will be eligible for the program.

The subsidy price ratio for home appliances will be reduced to 15 percent from 20 percent of a product's price, with the maximum subsidy amount reduced to CNY1,500 from CNY2,000 (USD214 from USD286) per item. The subsidy standard for digital products will remain unchanged at 15 percent, with a ceiling of CNY500 (USD71).

Editors: Dou Shicong, Martin Kadiev