China will ramp up efforts to promote the consumer goods trade-in program by enhancing financial support and expanding the scope of subsidized categories in 2025, said Li Chunlin, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), at a press conference in Beijing on Monday.
The country will launch special initiatives to boost consumption this year, including the issuance of ultra-long special treasury bonds of 300 billion yuan (about 42 billion U.S. dollars) to support the consumer goods trade-in program, said Li.
"The government announced a raft of measures to expand the scope of the consumer goods trade-in program at the beginning of this year. The recently concluded 'two sessions' approved the budget for this year, which includes 300 billion yuan in ultra-long special treasury bonds allocated for the consumer goods trade-in program. Efforts to promote the consumer goods trade-in program will be intensified, with an expansion of the scope of subsidized categories planned this year. The amount of subsidies, as I mentioned, has increased from 150 billion yuan last year to 300 billion yuan this year, and mobile phones, tablet computers, smartwatches, smart bracelets and some other goods have also been included in the subsidy scope," said Li.
He further emphasized that the NDRC will play a stronger coordinating role, urging government departments to speed up the introduction of more supporting policies to ensure the implementation of the new initiatives.
China to further promote trade-in program this year: official
China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) reviewed a record number of new drug registration applications in 2024, marking a year-on-year increase of 16.2 percent, with antineoplastic drugs accounting for the largest share, according to the administration.
In 2024, the NMPA evaluated a total of 18,259 drug registration applications, a figure that reflects the vitality of China's innovation in drug research and development.
"The record number of reviewed drug applications is a clear sign of China's rapidly growing biopharmaceutical industry. The approval of high-quality new drugs not only gives Chinese patients more and better treatment options, but also shows China's increasing role in the global pharmaceutical market, offering more Chinese solutions to patients around the world," said Yuan Lijia, a staff member at the Center for Drug Evaluation under the NMPA.
Notably, in 2024, applications for clinical trial and market approval of new anti-tumor drugs ranked first among all chemical drugs and biologics, accounting for even half of the total.
"In 2024, anti-tumor drugs made up the largest share of approved clinical trial applications, with over 41 percent being chemical drugs and more than 55 percent being biologics. Throughout the year, anti-tumor drugs also led in the number of innovative drugs approved, with both chemical drugs and biologics surpassing 36 percent," said Geng Ying, an official with the center.
In 2024, China approved the market entry of 48 innovative drugs and 65 innovative medical devices. Its number of drugs in development ranked second globally, and several domestically developed drugs gained approval for global markets.
China's new drug registration applications hit record high in 2024
