Trade-in program drives over 2 trillion yuan in sales

China's trade-in program for consumer goods has driven more than 2 trillion yuan (300 billion U.S. dollars) in sales across related categories since the start of 2026, according to the Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday.

The latest data shows that the policy has generated more than 250 million consumer transactions, significantly boosting consumer spending, facilitating industrial transformation and upgrading, and improving resource recycling and circular use.

Next, authorities will strengthen interdepartmental coordination, promote local efforts to create innovative offline consumer scenarios, and accelerate subsidy disbursement.

China's box office revenue has exceeded 31.5 billion yuan (about 4.73 billion U.S. dollars) so far this year, with domestic films entering into the overseas markets at a notably faster pace. Since the start of this year, a number of Chinese films, including racing-comedy "Pegasus 3," suspense-action thriller "Blades of the Guardians," the word-of-mouth hit "Dear You," and animated fantasy-comedy "All Wishes Come True," have been released overseas one after another.

According to the China Film Administration, more than 20 domestic films were released abroad in the first half of this year. By late August, Chinese films have raked in more than 450 million yuan (about 67.51 million U.S. dollars) at the overseas box office in 2026.

This year's Chinese films going overseas are no longer confined to a single genre such as Kung Fu or Wuxia, but have instead seen a collective overseas expansion across multiple genres, including realistic drama, animation, suspense, and sports.

Many of these films have been released simultaneously worldwide right from the start of their theatrical run.

The overseas markets are no longer limited to traditional Chinese-language film strongholds such as North America and Southeast Asia, but have further expanded to European countries including Germany, the UK, Ireland, Hungary and France, as well as more emerging Southeast Asian markets such as the Philippines and Indonesia.

"Global audiences are showing growing interest in Chinese films, and I think this is a very positive trend," said Zhang Yiwu, a professor at the Department of Chinese Language and Literature, Peking University.