"Trade-in" subsidy for replacing old with new will continue, and central funds will be allocated in batches.

Reporters learned from relevant departments that the policy of trading old for new in consumer goods has not changed, and the progress of subsidy funds is in line with expectations. The central funds for the third and fourth quarters will be dispersed gradually. It is understood that since the beginning of this year, in accordance with the deployment of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce, and other relevant departments have jointly implemented the policy of expanding the scope of trading old for new, following the successful experience of 2024, and have directly allocated 300 billion yuan of national debt funds to the localities to implement the trading old for new in consumer goods throughout the year. Two batches of central funds totaling 162 billion yuan have already been dispersed in January and April respectively, supporting the localities in carrying out the trading old for new work in the first and second quarters. There will be an additional 138 billion yuan of central funds allocated in the third and fourth quarters subsequently. "At present, the subsidy funds for trading old for new in consumer goods nationwide account for roughly 50% of the annual scale, and the overall progress is in line with expectations," said a relevant person in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission. The "national subsidy" funds include three parts: the super-long-term special national debt funds allocated by the central government, which have doubled in scale compared to last year; according to relevant regulations, local governments match the funds allocated by the central government in proportion, following the principle of a 9:1 shared responsibility between the central and local governments; some localities will also arrange additional local funds based on the progress and implementation circumstances, in addition to the funds allocated by the central government and the matching funds. According to the established work plan, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance will disperse central funds to support trading old for new in the third and fourth quarters respectively in July and October, and localities will continue to provide supporting funds. Relevant departments will guide localities to further optimize and improve the subsidy distribution methods, ensuring a smoother and more orderly implementation of policies and balanced fund utilization by the end of the year. According to a relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Commerce, as of now, the sales driven by trading old for new in consumer goods this year have exceeded the total sales of last year. Overall, the policy of trading old for new in consumer goods has continued to show results this year, effectively promoting the continuous expansion of consumption and significantly driving industrial transformation and upgrading. Next, local commerce departments will be required to make good use of the allocated support funds and refine the fund utilization plans by sector and period, steadily advancing the trading old for new in consumer goods in an orderly manner. At the same time, they will strengthen product quality and price supervision with other relevant departments, urge participating companies to operate in compliance with laws, prevent fraud, and ensure the orderly and standardized implementation of policies. This article is a reprint from "Xinhua News Agency," Editor: Li Fo.