China's trade-in programs boost major home appliance sales

China's consumer goods trade-in programs have prompted major companies and e-commerce platforms to offer attractive incentives, driving significant growth in the sales of major home appliances and furniture.

In the city of Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, a number of home furnishing and appliances companies have jointly launched a whole-home trade-in promotion. One home goods mall's "whole-home renewal" discounts have attracted a steady stream of customers.

"I just moved into a new house, and I'm here mainly to check out the whole-home package deals. The salesperson told me that I can get a discount of around 2,000-3,000 yuan (about 280-420 U.S. dollars) by trading in my old items, which is very helpful for me," said a local resident in the mall.

Beyond these home goods malls, some e-commerce platforms have also expanded their trade-in programs offline. An e-commerce mall in Chongqing Municipality neighboring Sichuan is offering up to 20 percent off for trading in old products, as well as promotions like "buy two, get one free" for home appliances.

"Other recyclers only give me a few dozen yuan for my old fridge, which doesn't seem worth it. But the fridge deal offered by the mall can get me at least 400 yuan for the trade-in, which I think is pretty substantial," said a Chongqing resident named Huang Xi.

Data from the Ministry of Commerce shows that China's online retail sales reached 7.1 trillion yuan in the first half of this year, up 9.8 percent. Digital products, service consumption, and trade-in programs have become new growth points. E-commerce platforms have enabled over 400,000 product trade-ins across more than 300 categories, with fridge, washing machine, mobile phone and TV trade-in growth reaching 82.1 percent, 70.4 percent, 63.9 percent and 54.3 percent, respectively.

"During this year's 618 (June 18) Mid-Year Shopping Festival, with the support of the trade-in programs, over 700 home appliance and furniture brands saw their sales double year-over-year. Air conditioner trade-ins had the highest growth, surpassing 200 percent quarter-over-quarter," said Sun Jian, manager of an e-commerce store in Chongqing.

China's trade-in programs boost major home appliance sales

An oil spill in northwestern Ecuador is continuing to spread, causing an environmental crisis that is damaging the local ecosystem and impacting residents' lives.

The spill in the Canton Quininde area of Esmeraldas Province was caused by a landslide on Friday that ruptured a major oil pipeline, according to a statement from the State Petroleum Company of Ecuador.

Following the incident, Ecuadorian authorities declared an environmental emergency to minimize the damage and protect local residents' livelihoods.

Efforts to contain the spill are underway, but as of Monday, the spill has continued to spread.

An estimated 200,000 barrels of oil have been spilled so far, affecting an area of 50 kilometers and contaminating several rivers and even some coastal sea areas.

In addition, drinking water supplies to over 50,000 households in the affected area have been cut off due to the contamination. The ongoing oil spill has also led to widespread illness among locals, while fishermen have to suspend their activities.

"Children have been severely affected by the oil contamination, with a three-month-old infant having a fever. Our community is experiencing an outbreak of illness, with many people having sore throats. Fishermen have also been heavily impacted, as they are unable to go out to sea to fish," said Wilson Ganchile Tenorio, a local official.

Meanwhile, the oil spill has forced many beaches in Esmeraldas to close, severely disrupting local tourism.

"It affects a lot of people severely. It's not just us—everyone in the travel industry has been impacted. The situation is awful right now," said Luis Carlos Guanapatin, a local vendor.

Ecuador's ongoing oil spill worsens environmental crisis, impacts communities