China expands consumer subsidies to boost spending as tariff risk looms
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. China is widening the scope of its consumer goods trade-in program this year, as Beijing intensifies efforts to convince cautious households to spend as rising external uncertainties threaten exports’ ability to prop up economic growth. The National Development and Reform Commission, China’s top economic planner, said Wednesday that the government will include more products in its home appliance trade-in program in 2025, extending state subsidies to microwave ovens, water purifiers, dishwasher and rice cookers.
Consumers who buy new mobile phones, tablets and smart watches will also qualify for a 15% subsidy for products priced at less than 6,000 yuan, or about $819. Total subsidies will be capped at 1,500 yuan per person per year, according to an official notice. The move comes after Chinese leaders vowed in December to make boosting consumption a priority this year.
Officials had said earlier in January that they would broaden the program, which encourages consumers to trade in and upgrade vehicles and home appliances. Markets seemed unimpressed by the details of the program expansion, with benchmark indexes in both China and Hong Kong extending declines in early afternoon trade. The pressure is on for China to revive depressed consumer confidence and weak consumption, which would help offset the expected hit from potential tariff hikes from the U.S.
that stand to blunt a key growth engine for the world’s second-largest economy. The tariffs risk comes at a tricky time for China, with growth in recent quarters more dependent on net exports than in other years, HSBC economists said in a recent report. By some measures, China could cope well, as its exposure to overseas demand—and the
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