Government subsidies in China boost digital product sales to $20 bn in four months

Chinese government's subsidies to boost domestic consumption in the country to offset declining exports resulted in heavy sales of digital products like smartphones, tablets, smartwatches totalling to about USD 20 billion in the past few months, the commerce ministry here has said. As of Thursday, over 48 million consumers had participated in the digital products subsidy scheme, buying a total of 51.48 million products and generating about 143.3 billion yuan (approx USD 19.9 billion) in sales, the ministry said on Friday.

From January to April, total retail sales of communication appliances surged 25.4 per cent from a year ago, representing the fastest growth among 16 major consumer goods categories, the ministry's data showed.

In January, China announced a raft of measures to expand the scope of its consumer goods trade-in programme. Under the expanded programme, categories of home appliances eligible for government subsidies have been increased from eight in 2024 to 12 in 2025.


China kicked off large-scale equipment upgrade and consumer goods trade-in programmes in March 2024, and revamped these programmes earlier this year, as part of efforts to boost domestic demand and spur economic growth.

Under the subsidy plan, consumers purchasing smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, or wristbands priced below 6,000 yuan (USD 850) per item are eligible for a subsidy covering 15 per cent of the sales price, up to a maximum of 500 (USD 71) per item. The programme applies to both domestic and foreign brands.

The Chinese government has been calling for efforts to boost domestic demand to shore up its economy and mitigate external risks amid rising trade tensions with the US.

The subsidies prompted millions of Chinese consumers to trade in their devices for the latest models ranging from electric vehicles to home appliances, which benefitted both domestic and foreign companies in the country, according to official media reports.

China also provides 20,000 yuan (approx USD 2850) subsidy to energy vehicles.

The Commerce Ministry said subsidy policies for digital products have facilitated an upgrade towards higher-end products in the market.

Third-party data showed that the sales volume of smartphones priced between 2,000 (approx USD 278) to 4,000 yuan (USD approx 570) rose 13 per cent year on year in the first four months, while those in the 4,000 to 6,000 yuan (USD 850) range saw sales jump 43 per cent, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.