(Yicai) March 5 -- The amount China plans to raise through ultra-long-term special treasury bonds to support the national consumer goods trade-in scheme will be less this year than last year.

China will issue CNY250 billion (USD36.3 billion) ultra-long-term special treasury bonds to support the trade-in of consumer goods in 2026, according to the Government Work Report delivered today by Premier Li Qiang at the Fourth Session of the 14th National People’s Congress, China’s parliament. In comparison, the issuance was CNY300 billion in 2025 and CNY150 billion in 2024.

At the end of last year, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance announced they had adjusted the consumer goods categories that the national trade-in scheme will cover from this year. For example, they excluded stoves, range hoods, microwave ovens, water purifiers, dishwashers, and rice cookers, and they added smart glasses.

Moreover, the subsidy value was also adjusted. For instance, household appliances now enjoy subsidies of 15 percent for a total of up to CNY1,500 (USD217) per unit, compared with 20 percent for a maximum of CNY2,000 per unit last year.

The consumer goods trade-in program further optimizes the allocation of funds, reasonably distributing the funds to each region by comprehensively considering factors such as consumption potential and policy implementation. It implements a unified subsidy standard nationwide for car scrapping, replacement, and renewal, six types of household appliances, and four types of digital and smart products.

Over 360 million people applied for consumer goods trade-in subsidies last year, driving sales of related products to over CNY2.6 trillion (USD377.2 billion) and directly boosting the growth of retail sales of consumer goods by 0.6 percentage points, according to public data.

Editor: Futura Costaglione