China's policy-backed trade-in program boosted consumer goods sales totalling 3.92 trillion yuan (about 558 billion U.S. dollars) during the 2024-2025 period, benefiting 494 million people, a senior commerce official said on Tuesday.
"From 2024 to 2025, 18.3 million vehicles were replaced under the trade-in program in China, with nearly 60 percent of them new energy vehicles. A total of 192 million home appliances were purchased through the trade-in program, more than 90 percent of which met top energy-efficiency standards. The trade-in program drove sales of consumer goods worth 3.92 trillion yuan and benefited 494 million people," Sheng Qiuping, Vice Minister of Commerce, told the media at a press briefing in Beijing.
Sheng said demand for environmentally-friendly products has driven diversified consumer choices in this category.
"Rising demand for green products, including new energy vehicles and smart, energy-efficient home appliances, has fueled steady growth in green consumption market. The supply of green products was enriched. Green consumption models were continuously innovated, and the overall environment for green spending was further improved," said Sheng.
China rolled out specific measures to facilitate and encourage trade-ins of consumer goods in 2024 to facilitate the scrapping of used goods in exchange for smart, green and low-carbon ones.
China's trade-in programs boost 3.92 trillion yuan in sales, benefit nearly 494 million people
Taoiseach of Ireland Micheal Martin, who wrapped up his five-day official visit to China, has praised China's progress in areas such as digital economy and green energy, saying Ireland is willing to deepen economic and trade cooperation with China in emerging sectors while enhancing cooperation on multilateral affairs.
It is Martin's first visit to China since taking office and the first by an Irish prime minister in 14 years.
Speaking during a joint interview with Chinese media outlets in Beijing, Martin spoke positively of the steady development of bilateral relations in recent years, highlighting closer people-to-people exchanges and growing ties in higher education.
"We now have a direct flight between Dublin and China and that's very important in terms of people to people. Our education links are very strong and we have many partnerships between Irish higher education institutions and Chinese higher education institutions and that's important," he said.
Martin said economic and trade ties remain a key pillar underpinning the sound development of bilateral relations.
He recalled that bilateral trade has seen exponential growth since his first visit to China 20 years ago, when he served as minister for enterprise, trade and employment.
Looking ahead, he expressed expectations for expanded cooperation with China in such emerging fields as digital economy and green transition.
"We will be embarking on a major investment in offshore renewables over the next decade. We already are in the planning process. It's a windy island, so we have a lot of wind to harness for energy. So we do see opportunities in AI as well. Ireland is a very strong location for investment, as a member of the European Union, the only English-speaking country now in the Eurozone and in the European Union. And it's a good access point to the European consumer market. We believe there's a greater opportunity for Chinese companies to locate in Ireland," he said.
As Ireland is set to assume the rotating presidency of the European Union (EU) in the second half of 2026, Martin said Ireland adopts a pragmatic policy towards China within the EU and stays committed to promoting a EU-China relationship framework that effectively manages differences while expanding mutually beneficial cooperation.
"What is important is that we continue to dialogue and see can we develop frameworks of agreement on the big picture. The WTO is also very important forum for resolving trade issues. Both Europe and China would acknowledge that industrial resilience, economic security issues are important issues, but that has to be balanced with an open free trade environment. So we are against tariffs. We think tariffs are ultimately damaging to the world economy," he said.
At the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Martin paid an official visit to China from Jan 4 to 8. In addition to Beijing, he also visited Shanghai.
Irish Taoiseach sees broader cooperation with China in emerging sectors
