At the Central Economic Work Conference held at the end of 2024, it was proposed to strengthen the implementation of the "two new" policies by expanding the scope. On January 8th, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance issued a notice to the public on the implementation of large-scale equipment updates and the policy of exchanging old for new consumer goods in 2025. On that day, the State Council Information Office held a regular policy briefing and invited relevant officials from relevant departments to introduce the relevant situation. At the meeting, Zhao Chenxin, Deputy Director of the National Development and Reform Commission, summarized the implementation effects of the "Two New" policies in 2024 from four aspects, which have significantly expanded effective investment and boosted consumer demand. The effect of stimulating consumer vitality is significant. In 2024, the number of scrapped and replaced cars in China will exceed 6.5 million, and the penetration rate of new energy passenger vehicles in the domestic market will exceed 50% for seven consecutive months starting from June. The annual domestic retail sales will reach 11 million vehicles. At the end of July 2024, we will strengthen our support for the launch of the "Two New" policies. In August, the sales of household appliances and audio-visual equipment in China increased by 3.4% year-on-year, with growth rates turning from negative to positive and maintaining high-speed growth. From September to November, they increased by 20.5%, 39.2%, and 22.2% year-on-year, respectively. The effect of driving investment growth is significant. In 2024, among more than 4600 equipment renewal projects supported by extra long term special treasury bond funds alone, the number of industrial, energy, power, transportation and other equipment will be more than 2 million units (sets). Preliminary estimates suggest that, driven by the "two new" policies, the total number of equipment updates in key areas has exceeded 20 million units (sets), effectively driving investment in related fields. The effect of promoting industrial upgrading is significant. The "two new" policies have promoted rapid growth in the production of equipment manufacturing and consumer goods industries. In November 2024, the added value of equipment manufacturing industry increased by 7.6% year-on-year, contributing nearly 50% to the growth of added value of industries above designated size; The added value of equipment industries such as shipbuilding and related equipment manufacturing, intelligent consumer equipment manufacturing, and lithium-ion battery manufacturing increased by 20.1%, 10.7%, and 8.8% year-on-year, respectively. The effect of supporting green transformation is significant. The "Two New" standard improvement action has released 168 important standards such as energy consumption and pollutant emissions. By 2024, more than 11000 intelligent community waste material recycling facilities will be added nationwide, and the sales of level 1 energy-efficient household appliances will account for as much as 90%. According to estimates, the implementation of the "two new" policies in 2024 will result in energy savings of approximately 28 million tons of standard coal and a reduction of approximately 73 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. The implementation of the 'Two New' policies has played an important role and achieved significant results in expanding effective investment, boosting consumer demand, promoting green transformation, and improving social livelihoods Zhao Chenxin said. Fu Jinling, Director of the Economic Construction Department of the Ministry of Finance, introduced that by the end of 2024, the 150 billion yuan of funds arranged by the central government for the exchange of old and new consumer goods have been basically used up, and some places have actively increased the arrangement of local funds to ensure the continuous implementation of supportive policies. Zhao Chenxin stated that the overall consideration for implementing the "two new" policy is to increase the scale of funds, expand the scope of support, optimize the implementation mechanism, and amplify the leverage effect. Specifically, it is reflected in the acceleration of equipment updates. Continue to support the upgrading of industrial, energy consuming equipment, energy and power, transportation, logistics, environmental infrastructure, education, cultural tourism, medical, and old elevators, and further include areas with great potential for upgrading such as electronic information, safety production, and facility agriculture in the subsidy scope. Specially allocate a portion of funds to strengthen the implementation of equipment renewal loan interest subsidies, amplify the leverage effect of funds, and reduce the financing costs of equipment renewal for business entities. Further increase subsidy standards for agricultural machinery scrapping and renewal, new energy buses, and power battery renewal. Expand the scope to support the trade in of consumer goods. Include eligible National IV emission standard fuel vehicles in the scope of scrapping and renewal subsidies, and standardize the maximum subsidy limit for national automobile replacement and renewal. The number of household appliances eligible for trade in subsidies has increased from 8 categories in 2024 to 12 categories in 2025, with a maximum subsidy of 20% of the sales price per item. Increase the maximum subsidy for each consumer's purchase of air conditioning products from 1 to 3, and implement subsidies for the purchase of new digital products such as mobile phones. In addition, we will continue to strongly support the replacement of home decoration consumer goods and the exchange of old electric bicycles for new ones. Accelerate the improvement of recycling and reuse levels. Standardize the trading of second-hand goods and accelerate the upgrading of the remanufacturing industry. The central government will continue to allocate special funds to support the recycling and disposal of waste electrical and electronic products. Accelerate the implementation of the "reverse invoicing" system aimed at reducing the tax burden on recycling enterprises. Support the production enterprises of automobiles, electrical and electronic products, etc. to increase the application proportion of recycled materials. Fully leverage the standard to enhance traction. Benchmarking against the international advanced level, improving the requirements for key industries and important equipment, technology, energy consumption, emissions and other indicators, and completing all 294 national standard formulation and revision tasks in the "two new" fields on schedule by the end of 2025. At the same time, enhance the enforcement and binding force of mandatory standards. Continue to expand the implementation scope of energy efficiency and water efficiency labeling, and organize the selection of product and equipment energy efficiency and water efficiency "leaders". Optimizing the process to enable subsidy funds to reach consumers faster and more conveniently is a systematic project to promote the specific implementation of the "two new" work. At the meeting, relevant officials from relevant departments introduced the arrangements for improving the implementation mechanism and promoting policy implementation in the next step. In terms of policy design, the current 'two new' work pattern and policy system will remain overall unchanged. For some situations and problems, come up with more targeted solutions Zhao Chenxin gave an example that in order to simplify the subsidy application process, local governments have been required to widely open channels that are widely known to the public, reducing the problem of multiple and repetitive information filling; To reduce the pressure on enterprises to advance funds, support local governments to allocate a portion of funds to corresponding payment platforms or operating entities based on actual conditions, and improve the efficiency of fund settlement. Considering the consumer demand during the New Year and Spring Festival, the first batch of funds for exchanging old for new consumer goods this year has been pre allocated to ensure the smooth implementation of the "two new" policies. "The total amount of extra long term special treasury bond used to support the" two new "projects this year has increased significantly compared with last year, and the specific amount will be announced at the National People's Congress and the National People's Congress," Zhao Chenxin said. Li Gang, Director of the Market Operation and Consumption Promotion Department of the Ministry of Commerce, stated that detailed implementation rules for the trade in of digital consumer products such as automobiles, home appliances, home decoration, kitchen and bathroom appliances, electric bicycles, and mobile phones will be introduced as soon as possible, clarifying subsidy standards and operational procedures. At the same time, further optimize the subsidy application review and fund disbursement process, so that subsidy funds can reach consumers faster and more conveniently. With the deepening implementation of the "two new" policy, the scrapping and elimination of waste products and equipment has significantly accelerated. Liu Dechun, Director of the Resource Conservation and Environmental Protection Department of the National Development and Reform Commission, stated that efforts will be made to actively develop second-hand commodity trading and remanufacturing industries, strengthen waste recycling and utilization in key areas, and promote high-quality development of the resource recycling and utilization industry. The development of the "two new" important standards mainly involves household appliances, furniture, automobiles, civilian drones, construction machinery, renewable resources, energy consumption limits, product energy efficiency, safety production, and other aspects. Liu Hongsheng, Director of the Standards and Technology Management Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation, stated that efforts will be made to accelerate the development of important national standards by 2025, with each standard being released as it matures. At the same time, efforts will be made to strengthen the implementation, application, supervision, and enforcement of these standards. In April 2024, the People's Bank of China, together with relevant departments, will set up a total scale of 500 billion yuan of refinancing for scientific and technological innovation and technological transformation, of which 400 billion yuan will be allocated to encourage banks to increase credit support for equipment renewal in key areas. "Since the implementation of the policy, each department has cumulatively pushed five batches of 23800 alternative projects to the bank, and the People's Bank of China and other departments have guided the bank to quickly connect and optimize product services." Peng Lifeng, Director of the Credit Market Department of the People's Bank of China, said that it will further optimize the refinancing process, reduce enterprise financing costs, and stimulate business entities to release the demand for equipment updates. (New Society)