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E-mail China.org.cn, May 11, 2024
Nanfang Daily, Nanfang Plus:
Recently, MOFCOM and other departments released the Action Plan to Facilitate and Encourage Trade-ins of Consumer Goods. Could you please elaborate on how this action plan will be implemented? And what tangible benefits can ordinary consumers expect from this plan?
Xu Xingfeng:
Thank you for your interest in trade-ins of consumer goods. With the approval of the State Council, MOFCOM and 13 other departments issued the action plan and held a work promotion meeting jointly with relevant departments. We are working together with other departments and local governments to promptly implement the plan. Currently, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shandong, Hunan, Shanxi and other regions have already issued detailed measures. Automobile, home appliances and furnishing companies involved in trade-ins have responded positively and launched preferential packages. We are also organizing local events, as part of the "National Campaign on Consumer Goods Trade-ins," across the country to make the policy widely known. The first event was launched in Haikou during the 4th China International Consumer Products Expo. We will work with relevant departments to specify policy measures and improve operational procedures as soon as possible, in a bid to make the process simpler and more precise.
You are concerned about the benefits consumers can expect from trade-ins. The action plan is a major decision made by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, and we are actively promoting its implementation. As trade-ins involve millions of households and the vital interest of the people, we respect consumers' wishes and respond to their demands in policy design, aiming to give them a sense of gain. The benefits are reflected in the following aspects.
When it comes to automobiles, selling or scrapping an old car and buying a new one is an action by the people. We will expand and extend this point throughout the entire chain of automobile circulation and consumption, aiming to make our citizens more satisfied. Specifically, the first thing is that buying cars will be more cost-effective. Currently, companies are responding actively and offering promotional discounts. Policy packages and a combination of measures will be introduced, offering benefits from various aspects such as finance, taxation, credit and insurance to reduce the cost of buying cars, making them more affordable. Second, more convenient services will be provided for the people to use cars. We will improve infrastructure such as charging stations, parking facilities and intelligent transportation. We will carry out pilot reforms on automobile circulation and consumption, supporting the development of industries focused on car modification, leasing, RV camping, sports events and classic cars. Third, selling cars will be more worry free. We will advance nationwide efforts to rescind all local policies that restrict sales of non-local second-hand vehicles, in order to stimulate demand for second-hand cars and enable car owners to sell their cars at more satisfactory prices. A second-hand car information inquiry platform will be established to make car information more transparent and car prices more reasonable, allowing people to buy second-hand cars with the same confidence as buying a new one. Consumers will be happier if they can buy used cars with better conditions and more guaranteed after-sales services at the same price. Fourth, it will be more convenient to scrap cars. The final step in automobile circulation is scrapping. We encourage dismantling companies to collect cars door-to-door so that it's more convenient for car owners to surrender their to-be-scrapped vehicles for disposal. Overall, it will be more cost-effective for consumers to buy cars, and more convenient services will be provided for them to use, sell and scrap cars.
In terms of home appliances, home furnishing and decoration: First, we will prioritize the convenience of consumption. People have no place to put old furniture they want to keep, there is no one to collect household appliances that people want to throw away, and people do not have anywhere to stay temporarily when renovating their homes: these are all difficulties facing ordinary people in their daily lives. We will encourage the creation of "storage rooms," "recycling stations" and "relocation houses," as well as "internet + recycling" and "one-stop collection of old items, delivery of new ones, disassembly and assembly" to take the worry out of renovation. Second, we will prioritize information transparency. Nowadays, people are living healthier lives and want green building materials, while elderly people require senior-friendly renovations. However, some consumers do not know which building materials are green and which elderly-friendly products are up to the mark. We will work with relevant departments to initiate activities to introduce green building materials into rural areas, dynamically improve the catalog of elderly-friendly home furnishings, and promote "demonstration home decoration rooms" within shopping malls, communities and platforms so that consumers can obtain information through multiple channels. Third, we will prioritize smart technologies and convenience, with a focus on smart homes. Nowadays, smart homes are rapidly developing and have entered thousands of households. However, there is still insufficient compatibility between smart products of different brands, and sometimes people have too many remote controls. Next, we will work with relevant departments to speed up the improvement of compatibility standards and promote the application of smart products in more living scenarios. Fourth, we will prioritize living environment optimizations. We will organize and carry out actions to promote safe home improvements in communities and improve after-sales service for home appliances, so as to boost satisfaction and confidence in consumption.
Next, we will continue to listen widely to opinions and suggestions of various parties, and do our best so that consumers can get genuine benefits. We also welcome friends from the media and consumers to supervise the implementation and effects of the policies. Thank you.
