China's 2026 subsidy policies driving digital, smart product sales in New Year Holiday

China's newly unveiled trade-in subsidy for 2026 is driving consumption nationwide, with digital and smart-tech products flying off the shelves.

In Guangzhou, the capital city of south China's Guangdong Province, flocks of consumers head to home appliance and smartphone stores during the ongoing New Year holiday.

"I decided to buy [a new phone] as there's new subsidy policy. I got a discount of 650 yuan (about 92.90 U.S. dollars), and with the government subsidy, I saved more than 1,000 yuan," said Wu, the first consumer to redeem the 2026 national trade-in subsidy.

"Consumer engagement is very high now. For example, customer number today has increased by 300 percent compared to last weekend. Take this tablet as an example. This model with 12+516GB memory capacity costs 3,199 yuan, but the price drops to only 2,699 yuan after the subsidy. Devices at this price are currently the most popular among consumers," said Jin Long, a staff member at the offline store of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com.

China on Wednesday released detailed policies for the 2026 home appliance trade-in subsidy program, along with incentives for the purchase of digital and smart products.

According to a notice jointly issued by the Ministry of Commerce and other government departments, individual consumers purchasing energy- and water-efficient household appliances will be eligible for subsidies of up to 1,500 yuan per item.

Eligible products include refrigerators, washing machines, televisions, air conditioners, water heaters, and computers, with the subsidy set at 15 percent of the final purchase price after discounts.

In addition, subsidies will cover certain digital and smart products, including mobile phones, tablet computers, smartwatches and smart bands, priced at no more than 6,000 yuan each. For these products, the subsidy will be capped at 500 yuan per item.

According to China's e-commerce giant Suning.com, its home appliance sales on Thursday increased by 175 percent compared to its average daily sales in December 2025.

China began rolling out subsidies for consumer goods trade-ins in 2024 to boost market confidence and stimulate domestic demand.

China's 2026 subsidy policies driving digital, smart product sales in New Year Holiday

The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has risen to 676, including 136 deaths, as health authorities warned of continued community transmission and the risk of a sudden geographic expansion of the outbreak.

According to the latest situation report released on Thursday by the DRC's health authorities, 41 new confirmed cases, including nine deaths, were reported on Wednesday in the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu.

The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, has so far affected 29 health zones across three eastern provinces: Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu.

The latest official assessment said confirmed cases have been increasing from week to week, indicating continued community transmission. It warned that a sudden geographic expansion of the outbreak is feared if public health measures are not implemented quickly.

Health authorities also said 5,768 contacts were under follow-up across the three affected provinces, with a follow-up rate of 71.8 percent. The report listed weak contact tracing as one of the main challenges, saying the current rate remains below the 95-percent target and could compromise efforts to interrupt transmission chains.

Two Ebola patients in Bunia, the capital of Ituri Province, were declared recovered, bringing the cumulative number of recoveries to 32, the report said.

The current Ebola outbreak in the DRC, the country's 17th since the disease was first identified in 1976, was officially declared on May 15. The affected provinces, with a combined population of nearly 15 million, are marked by large-scale internal displacement and cross-border population movements toward neighboring countries, according to the report.

Ebola cases in DR Congo rise to 676 amid community transmission