China’s initiatives to boost consumer spending have had a promising start this year, with the trade-in subsidy program driving a significant increase in demand for digital products -- especially smartphones -- according to the Ministry of Commerce.
As of Tuesday, more than 42 million consumers had applied for subsidies to purchase smartphones and other digital devices, with over 22 million mobile phones sold, generating total sales of 66.95 billion yuan (about 9.2 billion U.S. dollars).
China implemented the subsidy program as part of broader efforts to boost domestic consumption. Under the plan, consumers purchasing smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, or smart wristbands priced below 6,000 yuan per item are eligible for a subsidy covering 15 percent of the sales price, up to a maximum of 500 yuan per item. The program applies to both domestic and foreign brands.
Since the policy was implemented on January 20, average weekly sales -- and particularly sales of mobile phones priced below 6,000 yuan -- have risen by 13.7 percent and 23.5 percent, respectively, compared to the period before the policy took effect.
"During this period our mobile phones have been selling especially well. Thanks to the subsidies, overall sales of mid- to high-end models have increased by 20 to 30 percent year-on-year," said Shi Hongxia, a sales assistant at a phone store in Huai’an, Jiangsu Province, in eastern China.
Preliminary data shows that over 33,000 offline market participants and 70,000 stores are involved in the subsidy program for digital products.
China's trade-in program spurs digital product consumption
China Meteorological Administration (CMA) held a series of science popularization activities in Beijing on Sunday to mark the World Meteorological Day, which fell on March 23 this year.
The CMA campus opened its doors to the public, showcasing cutting-edge scientific and technological equipment and interactive projects to disseminate meteorological science knowledge.
"The CMA campus along with some meteorological observatories and science popularization venues in Beijing are open to the public. Specifically, the CMA campus opened indoor exhibition areas, including the China Meteorological Science and Technology Exhibition Hall, the science popularization exhibition area of the National Satellite Meteorological Center, the science popularization exhibition hall of the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, as well as outdoor exhibition areas like the meteorological observation field, the meteorological science popularization area, and the meteorological equipment exhibition. Visitors had the opportunity to gain an insight into the latest advancements in 'meteorology +' technologies applied in fields such as aviation, navigation, and finance, while learning about the latest development process of meteorological satellites, intelligent meteorological observation equipment, and artificial weather modification operation systems," said Zhang Jie, deputy director of the CMA office.
At the event, many visitors had conversations with a smart weather prediction robot, called "Fenghe".
The large-scale meteorological service language model of "Fenghe", featuring 230 billion parameters, was collaboratively developed by the CMA Public Meteorological Service Center and Tsinghua University.
By incorporating professional and authoritative meteorological data, this system can engage with users through a conversational dialogue interface to address inquiries related to meteorological science education, weather forecast, travel planning, and early warning information.
"The 'Fenghe' model possesses five capabilities of providing meteorological knowledge, recognizing user intentions, interpreting and analyzing data, making decisions and inferences, and delivering meteorological service tools," explained Zhu Xiaoxiang, director of the CMA Public Meteorological Service Center.
China Meteorological Administration hold activities to mark World Meteorological Day
