To the People’s Governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government; to all ministries and commissions of the State Council, and to all institutions directly affiliated with the State Council:

The “Action Plan for Promoting Large-Scale Equipment Upgrading and the Trade-In of Consumer Goods” is hereby issued to you. Please ensure its thorough implementation.

State Council

March 7, 2024

(This document is publicly released.)

Action Plan to Promote Large-Scale Equipment Upgrading and Consumer Goods Trade-In Programs

Promoting large-scale equipment upgrades and the trade-in of used consumer goods for new ones is an important measure to accelerate the establishment of a new development paradigm and advance high-quality development. It will robustly stimulate both investment and consumption, delivering benefits in the short term as well as over the long haul. To implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee, the following action plan is hereby formulated to drive a new round of large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer‑goods trade-ins.

To promote large-scale equipment upgrades and the trade-in of used consumer goods for new ones, we must be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and earnestly carry out the arrangements set forth at the Central Economic Work Conference and the Fourth Meeting of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission. We will coordinate efforts to expand domestic demand with deepening supply-side structural reform, launch four major initiatives—equipment upgrading, consumer‑goods trade-ins, recycling and circular utilization, and standards enhancement—vigorously foster the production and application of advanced equipment, steadily increase the share of advanced production capacity, ensure that more high‑quality, durable consumer goods enter households, keep resource‑circulation and reuse chains flowing smoothly, and substantially elevate the quality and efficiency of the national economy’s circulation.

— Adhering to a market‑driven approach guided by the government 。 Fully leverage the decisive role of the market in allocating resources, align with the differentiated needs arising from the upgrading and replacement of various types of equipment and consumer goods, and rely on the market to deliver diversified supply and services. At the same time, enhance the government’s role by strengthening policy support in fiscal, tax, financial, and investment areas, deploying a coordinated package of measures, guiding businesses to offer appropriate price concessions, and fostering economies of scale in product upgrades and replacements.

— Uphold the principle of encouraging the advanced and phasing out the backward. Establish a long-term mechanism that combines incentives with constraints, accelerate the phase-out of outdated products and equipment, enhance safety and reliability, and promote the high-end, intelligent, and green development of industries. Expedite the construction of a unified national market and dismantle local protectionism.

— Uphold standards as the guiding principle and promote orderly improvement. Benchmarking against international best practices and aligning with the realities of industrial development, we will accelerate the formulation and revision of standards in areas such as energy conservation and carbon reduction, environmental protection, safety, and resource recycling. Taking into account both enterprises’ affordability and consumers’ acceptance, we will systematically advance the implementation of these standards.

By 2027, investment in equipment across industries such as manufacturing, agriculture, construction, transportation, education, culture and tourism, and healthcare will increase by more than 25% compared with 2023. In key sectors, the energy efficiency of major energy‑using equipment will generally reach energy‑saving standards, and the share of production capacity achieving A‑level environmental performance will rise substantially. Among industrial enterprises above designated size, the penetration rate of digital R&D and design tools and the CNC adoption rate for critical processes will exceed 90% and 75%, respectively. The volume of scrapped vehicle recycling will nearly double compared with 2023, used‑car transactions will grow by 45% over 2023, and the recycling of waste household appliances will increase by 30% year on year, while the proportion of recycled materials in the overall resource supply will continue to expand.

(1) Promote the upgrading and retrofitting of equipment in key industries. Focusing on advancing a new type of industrialization, with energy conservation and carbon reduction, ultra‑low emissions, safe production, digital transformation, and intelligent upgrading as key priorities, we will concentrate on priority sectors—including steel, nonferrous metals, petrochemicals, chemicals, building materials, power, machinery, aerospace, shipbuilding, light industry and textiles, and electronics—while vigorously promoting the renewal and technological upgrading of production equipment, energy‑using equipment, and power generation, transmission, and distribution facilities. We will accelerate the deployment of energy‑efficient and energy‑saving equipment that meets advanced standards, and carry out energy‑conservation and carbon‑reduction upgrades by sector and sub‑sector. We will promote the adoption of smart manufacturing equipment and software, expedite the development and widespread application of the industrial internet, and foster new models of digital‑economy‑driven empowerment. We will strictly enforce mandatory standards for energy consumption, emissions, and safety, as well as the requirements set forth in equipment phase‑out catalogs, and phase out non‑compliant equipment in accordance with laws and regulations.

(2) Accelerate the upgrading of equipment in the construction and municipal infrastructure sectors. Focusing on the development of a new type of urbanization and in tandem with urban renewal and the renovation of older residential communities, we will advance upgrading and retrofitting efforts by prioritizing areas such as residential elevators, water supply, heating, gas supply, wastewater treatment, sanitation, critical urban infrastructure, and public safety. We will accelerate the replacement of aging residential elevators that fail to meet current product standards or pose significant safety risks. We will promote the modernization and upgrading of municipal water treatment plants and pressure‑boosting and storage facilities nationwide. We will systematically carry out metering upgrades for heating systems and continue to renovate and upgrade heating equipment. Focusing on exterior wall insulation, windows and doors, and heating units, we will push forward energy‑efficiency retrofits of existing buildings. We will persistently implement the replacement and upgrading of aging pipelines for gas and other utilities. We will expedite efforts to address infrastructure gaps and strengthen weak links in urban domestic wastewater and waste‑management facilities and equipment. We will promote the deployment of IoT‑enabled smart sensing devices to support critical urban infrastructure, including underground utility networks, bridges, tunnels, and manhole covers. Finally, we will accelerate the modernization of public‑safety equipment, such as video surveillance systems in key public areas and along major roadways.

(3) Support the renewal of transportation equipment and aging agricultural machinery. Continue to advance the electrification of urban buses and support the replacement of aging new‑energy buses and power batteries. Accelerate the phase‑out of diesel freight vehicles meeting National III emission standards or lower. Strengthen industrial capacity for green aviation technologies, including electric and hydrogen‑powered aircraft. Expedite the scrapping and renewal of high‑fuel‑consumption, high‑emission older vessels, vigorously promote the development of new‑energy‑propelled ships, improve supporting infrastructure and establish relevant standards and specifications, and gradually expand the use of new‑energy vessels powered by electricity, liquefied natural gas, biodiesel, and green methanol. Continue to effectively implement the subsidy policy for the scrapping and upgrading of agricultural machinery, aligning it with the needs of agricultural production and the stage of agricultural mechanization, and steadily carry out the decommissioning and modernization of outdated agricultural equipment to accelerate the structural adjustment of the agricultural machinery sector.

(4) Enhance the quality of educational, cultural, tourism, and medical equipment. Promote the upgrading and replacement of advanced teaching and research equipment at eligible universities and vocational colleges, including technical schools, to enhance their educational and research capabilities. Strictly enforce standards for the allocation of subject‑specific teaching equipment, ensuring both quality and quantity while facilitating timely updates to instructional instruments and apparatus. Advance the modernization and improvement of cultural‑tourism‑related facilities, such as cable cars, amusement rides, and performance‑stage equipment. Strengthen the development of a high‑quality, efficient healthcare service system by driving the iterative upgrading of medical‑healthcare institutions’ equipment and information‑technology infrastructure, and encourage eligible medical facilities to accelerate the renewal and retrofitting of medical devices—including medical imaging systems, radiation therapy equipment, telemedicine platforms, and surgical robots. Furthermore, promote the renovation and enhancement of hospital wards to address existing shortcomings in ward environments and facilities.

(5) Implement the trade-in program for automobiles. Increase policy support, unblock bottlenecks in the circulation chain, and promote tiered and renewal‑driven automobile consumption. Organize nationwide trade‑in promotional campaigns, encourage automakers and dealers to launch sales incentives, and foster orderly competition within the industry. Strictly enforce mandatory vehicle scrappage standards and vehicle safety and environmental inspection requirements, and phase out aging vehicles that meet these criteria in accordance with laws and regulations. Tailor measures to local conditions to optimize vehicle purchase restrictions, and advance the development of an information‑sharing system for managing the full life cycle of vehicle use.

(6) Launch a trade-in program for home appliances. Centered on enhancing convenience, we will streamline the consumer chain for home appliance upgrades. We will support home appliance retailers in partnering with manufacturers and recycling firms to launch trade-in promotions, establish dedicated online and offline zones for appliance trade-ins, and offer incentives to consumers who trade in their old appliances for energy-efficient models. Localities with the necessary resources are encouraged to provide subsidies for consumers purchasing green, smart home appliances. Furthermore, we will accelerate efforts to improve after-sales service for home appliances.

(7) Promote the replacement of home‑improvement consumer goods. Through a combination of government support and corporate price concessions, residents are encouraged to undertake home renovations and localized upgrades—such as kitchen and bathroom remodeling—while ongoing efforts continue to promote age‑friendly home modifications. At the same time, new forms of consumption, including smart home technologies, are being actively cultivated. Efforts are also underway to bring model home‑decorating spaces into shopping malls, communities, and online platforms, with businesses encouraged to develop virtual showrooms and offer affordable products and services that meet diverse consumer needs.

(8) Improve the recycling network for end-of-life products and equipment. Accelerate the development of a “replacement-plus‑recycling” logistics system and new business models, supporting manufacturers and retailers of durable consumer goods in establishing reverse‑logistics networks or partnering with specialized recycling firms to offer door‑to‑door collection of used consumer products. Further refine the recycling network for secondary resources and support the construction of a number of centralized sorting and processing centers. Optimize the spatial distribution of vehicle‑scrapping and dismantling enterprises and promote door‑to‑door pickup services. Enhance recycling channels for office equipment in public institutions. And support the growth of online trading platforms for used and end‑of‑life products and equipment.

(9) Support the circulation and trading of secondhand goods. Continuously optimize the management of used‑car transaction registration to facilitate smoother trade. Vigorously develop the export of used vehicles. Promote standardized practices in the trade of secondhand electronic products to prevent data leaks and unauthorized re‑recovery of user information. Encourage secondhand‑goods platform operators to establish robust evaluation systems for both merchants and users, and strengthen the sharing of credit records and information on illegal or dishonest conduct. Support electronics manufacturers in expanding into secondhand‑trade, refurbishment, and repair services.

(10) Promote remanufacturing and cascade utilization in an orderly manner. Encourage the remanufacturing of eligible used production equipment, ensuring that remanufactured products meet or exceed the quality, safety, and environmental performance standards of their original new counterparts. Promote the adoption of nondestructive testing, additive manufacturing, flexible machining, and other advanced technologies and processes to elevate the level of remanufacturing operations. Deepen efforts to remanufacture traditional equipment such as automotive components, construction machinery, and machine tools, while exploring opportunities to launch high-end equipment remanufacturing initiatives in emerging sectors like wind and photovoltaic power and aerospace. Accelerate research and development on residual‑life assessment technologies for products and equipment in fields such as wind and photovoltaic systems and power batteries, and systematically advance the cascading utilization of products, equipment, and critical components.

(11) Promote the high-level recycling and reuse of resources. Promote the agglomeration and large-scale development of enterprises engaged in the processing and utilization of renewable resources, and guide the gradual phase-out of inefficient production capacity. Improve policies supporting the treatment of waste electrical and electronic equipment, and study expanding the scope of coverage under the waste electrical and electronic equipment management system. Support the establishment of industrial clusters for the advanced processing of scrap steel, scrap non‑ferrous metals, waste plastics, and other renewable resources. Actively and orderly develop biomass liquid fuels primarily derived from waste oils and non‑food biomass. Explore the development of an information‑based traceability system for the use of recycled materials such as recycled plastics and recycled metals, aligned with international standards. Continuously enhance the technological level of waste non‑ferrous metal utilization, and strengthen research and application of technologies for the extraction of rare and precious metals. Timely refine import standards and policies for retired power batteries, recycled materials, and other related products.

(12) Accelerate the refinement of energy consumption, emissions, and technical standards. Benchmarking against international best practices, we will accelerate the formulation and revision of a set of mandatory national standards on energy consumption limits and the energy efficiency of products and equipment, dynamically update the advanced, benchmark, and准入 (market access) energy‑efficiency levels for key energy‑using products and equipment, and promptly raise energy‑saving targets and market‑access thresholds. We will also expedite the upgrading of limit standards related to the energy consumption of passenger cars and heavy‑duty commercial vehicles. Furthermore, we will refine emission standards for priority sectors, optimizing and enhancing control levels for atmospheric and water pollutants. In addition, we will revise and improve the clean‑production evaluation indicator system and develop or revise carbon‑emission accounting standards for enterprises in key industries. Finally, we will完善 (perfect) standards covering the upgrading and decommissioning of wind turbines, photovoltaic equipment, and related products.

(13) Strengthen the enhancement of product technical standards. Focusing on mass‑market consumer goods such as automobiles, home appliances, household products, consumer electronics, and civilian drones, we will accelerate the upgrading of standards related to safety, health, performance, environmental protection, and testing. We will expedite the refinement of the quality and safety standards system for home appliances, and vigorously promote public awareness of recommended service lifetimes and energy‑efficiency practices. We will also speed up the modernization of quality standards for consumer products, establish a regulatory catalog for quality and safety oversight, and enforce stringent quality and safety controls. Furthermore, we will improve standard frameworks such as carbon labeling, fully leveraging their roles in guiding market trends, supporting green certification, and promoting high‑end certifications.

(14) Strengthen the provision of standards for resource recycling. Improve green design standards for materials and components to enhance their recyclability, disassemblability, and potential for regeneration and remanufacturing. Develop and revise recycling standards for waste electrical and electronic products, as well as other standards for the recovery of secondary resources. Issue a national standard on information‑erasure methods for secondhand transactions of mobile phones, tablet computers, and other electronic products; guide secondhand electronics distributors in establishing information security management systems and information technology service management systems; and conduct research to develop grading criteria for the usability of used electronic products.

(15) Strengthen the alignment of domestic and international standards in key areas. Establish and refine a mechanism for tracking and converting international standards into national standards; conduct comparative analyses between China’s standards and relevant international standards; adopt a batch of advanced, applicable international standards; and continuously increase the rate of international standard adoption. Support domestic institutions in actively participating in the development and revision of international standards, and facilitate the global outreach of standards in key sectors such as new‑energy vehicles. Strengthen alignment between domestic and international frameworks in areas including quality standards, inspection and quarantine, and certification and accreditation.

(16) Strengthen fiscal policy support. Include eligible equipment‑upgrade and circular‑economy projects within the scope of funding support, such as central budgetary investment. Maintain coordinated support from both the central government and local authorities for consumer‑goods trade‑in programs: provide subsidies for eligible vehicle trade‑ins through energy‑saving and emission‑reduction funds allocated by the central government; and encourage localities with the capacity to pool and leverage relevant funds earmarked for modern commerce and distribution systems to support the trade‑in of durable consumer goods, including home appliances. Continue to implement subsidies for the renewal of aging commercial vehicles and vessels, supporting the replacement of outdated ships and diesel‑powered trucks. Encourage local governments that are able to do so to integrate and utilize urban transport development incentive funds allocated by the central government to finance the replacement of new‑energy buses and their batteries. Fully and effectively implement the policy on subsidies for the scrapping and upgrading of agricultural machinery. The central government has established a special fund to support the collection and treatment of waste electrical and electronic products. Further refine government green‑procurement policies and increase the procurement of green‑labelled products. Strengthen financial discipline, reinforce comprehensive, end‑to‑end, and all‑round oversight of fiscal funds, and enhance the effectiveness and precision of their use.

(17) Improve tax support policies. Increase tax incentives for specialized equipment used in energy and water conservation, environmental protection, and workplace safety, and extend these incentives to cover digital and intelligent transformation initiatives. Promote the practice of resource‑recycling enterprises issuing “reverse invoices” to individual sellers of scrapped products. In coordination with the simplified VAT collection policy for renewable‑resource recycling businesses, conduct research to refine supporting measures for income‑tax administration and optimize tax‑collection standards and procedures.

(18) Optimize financial support. Employ re‑lending policy tools to guide financial institutions in strengthening support for equipment upgrades and technological transformation; the central government will provide interest subsidies on bank loans that meet the eligibility criteria for re‑lending reimbursement. Leverage the mechanisms established to expand medium- and long-term lending to the manufacturing sector. Encourage banking institutions to appropriately increase green credit, bolstering financial support for the production, services, and consumption of green, smart home appliances. On the premise of compliance with laws and regulations and controllable risks, encourage banks to moderately lower the down payment ratio for passenger vehicle loans and to prudently determine loan terms and credit limits.

(19) Strengthen factor assurance. Strengthen the provision of land, energy, and other essential resources for enterprise technological upgrading projects. For technology‑upgrade projects that do not require additional land and focus primarily on equipment modernization, streamline preliminary approval procedures. Coordinate the planning and construction of facilities for residential waste sorting, transfer storage, and recycling of renewable resources within the region, incorporating these into the scope of public infrastructure land use to ensure adequate land‑use needs are met.

(20) Strengthen support for innovation. Focusing on the longstanding challenges hindering the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries—namely, bottlenecks in industrial foundations and critical technological equipment—we are vigorously advancing research and development efforts to address these pressing issues. We are refining mechanisms such as the “listing‑for‑leadership” approach, the “race‑to‑the‑top” model, and iterative innovation of new products; strengthening support for pilot‑scale testing in manufacturing; and accelerating the commercial application of innovative breakthroughs.

All regions and departments, under the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee, should refine working mechanisms, strengthen overall coordination, provide clear policy explanations, and foster a favorable social environment for advancing large-scale equipment upgrades and the trade-in of used consumer goods for new ones. The National Development and Reform Commission, in collaboration with relevant departments, shall establish dedicated task forces, enhance inter‑agency cooperation, and reinforce coordination between the central and local levels. Each relevant department shall, in accordance with its assigned responsibilities, formulate specific implementation plans and supporting policies, fulfill its duties, intensify monitoring and analysis, and ensure that all tasks are carried out thoroughly and effectively. Major matters shall be promptly reported and submitted for approval in accordance with established procedures.

Click “ Read the original text ”

Source: China Government Website