China's Ministry of Commerce has ordered a stepped‑up push to ensure consumers can claim trade‑in subsidies for appliances, electronics and automobiles during the nine‑day 2026 Spring Festival holiday (Feb 15–23). The notice, issued by the ministry's general office, directs local authorities to protect subsidy funding, secure product supply, expand offline participation and make it easy for holiday shoppers to exchange old goods for subsidies on new purchases.
The ministry told provinces and cities to prioritise in‑store channels during the holiday, guaranteeing that shoppers who present old appliances, digital devices or vehicles can receive the state‑backed support while retailers remain open. Local governments are urged to prepare adequate inventories, extend business hours and add participating outlets in rural areas; online platforms are asked to focus services toward the countryside so rural residents can benefit more readily.
Beyond logistics, the notice asks officials to stage special trade‑in promotions, create experiential retail spaces and encourage one‑stop services from manufacturers, banks and mall operators. Authorities will step up publicity, open complaint hotlines, upgrade information systems for real‑time monitoring and tighten anti‑fraud enforcement to prevent abusive claims or subsidy arbitrage.
The measure is the latest element of a broader package of consumption‑led policies Beijing has been rolling out under the "Le Gou Xin Chun" (Happy Shopping for the New Year) campaign and earlier trade‑in guidance. It reflects a deliberate pivot toward demand‑side stimulus: vouchers, coupons, tax breaks and subsidised trade‑ins have become recurring tools as central and local governments try to lift household spending and absorb excess industrial capacity without resorting to heavy credit expansion.
For businesses, the short‑term upside is clear. Car dealerships, white‑goods chains and consumer electronics retailers can expect a lift in foot traffic and larger ticket transactions during what is already the country’s busiest shopping period. The policy also leans into the experiential retail trend by encouraging shoppers to visit stores to test smart appliances and gadgets, a tactic that benefits brick‑and‑mortar outlets after years of e‑commerce domination.
There are, however, operational and fiscal challenges. Local governments must fund and administer subsidies fairly, maintain supply chains especially to rural counties, and prevent gaming of the system — a risk the notice addresses by demanding enhanced data links between central and provincial platforms and stricter fraud checks. The effectiveness of the programme will hinge on timely coordination between commerce departments, finance bureaux, retailers and logistics providers.
Internationally the move matters because it alters near‑term demand for imports and components used in cars, chips and consumer electronics. A successful festive stimulus would raise orders for suppliers and ease pressure on manufacturers sitting on inventory. Conversely, if local budgets are strained or anti‑fraud enforcement becomes heavy‑handed, the programme may underdeliver and underscore the limits of cyclical demand stimulation.
For policymakers, the trade‑in push is more than a seasonal sales tactic: it is part of a continuing strategy to re‑balance growth toward domestic consumption and rural spending, shore up confidence among households and retail firms, and signal that Beijing prefers targeted, market‑facing interventions over large off‑budget infrastructure drives. The coming weeks of sales and subsequent data releases will offer a clear early test of whether this approach is gaining traction.