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

The Chinese capital of Beijing marked a significant milestone in expanding its trade connections with Central Asia on Wednesday morning, with the launch of its first ever freight train to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan.

The train, carrying 90 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) filled with exports, departed from Beijing's railway logistics center and will arrive in Tashkent in 14 days.

The cargoes carried by the train, valued at over 16 million yuan (about 2.2 million U.S. dollars), are mainly goods such as fresh air ventilators, compressors, engines, and thermostats, which are all made in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. This has also been a significant step toward the region's outward-oriented economic development.

"For the launch of this freight train, we have developed a customized transportation plan based on the needs of enterprises. As for organizing the transportation, we have prioritized planning, empty container allocation, loading and transportation, and customs clearance in a bid to establish a fast channel for the train's operation," said Zhang Shusheng, manager of the marketing department of Beijing's railway logistics center.

The opening of the train route will provide important support for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region to strengthen economic ties with Central Asian countries and build high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

The Central Asia freight trains connect major destinations in five Central Asian countries with various Chinese cities including Tianjin, Xi'an, Jinan, Hefei, and Lianyungang. Since July 2020, 32 dedicated freight train routes between China and Central Asia have been established.

Beijing launches first direct freight train to Central Asia